Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I apologise for being late which was due to questions in the other House taking longer than anticipated. I thank Senators for this opportunity to address the House on the 2005 Annual Report of the Office of Tobacco Control.

Last year saw the first anniversary of the introduction of the smoke free at work initiative introduced by the then Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, and the year also saw the sad death of Tom Power, the first chief executive of the office whose commitment and dedication to the cause of tobacco control impressed all who met him. It is only fitting that we should record his untimely passing and pay tribute to his record of achievement. Tom worked tirelessly in developing and advancing policy in the area of tobacco and health and his drive and determination contributed to the introduction of the smoke free workplaces legislation.

The office was established under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002. It is the body established to progress the Government's tobacco control strategy as outlined in the 2000 document, Towards a Tobacco Free Society. I will briefly summarise the work of the office during 2005. During that year much of the office's work was directed towards ensuring compliance with the smoke free at work legislation. This was achieved in co-operation with the Health Service Executive and the Health and Safety Authority. The office also played an important role in co-ordinating the national tobacco control inspection programme.

Over 35,000 inspections were carried out by environmental health officers and compliance continues to be high — 95% of premises inspected were compliant. This indicates that the vast majority of enclosed workplaces are smoke free and confirms that the measure enjoys widespread public support. Where necessary, prosecutions are initiated and 38 prosecutions were taken during the year. Of these, 32 related to licensed premises, four to taxi companies, one to a retail shop and one private individual was also prosecuted. Some 37 of these prosecutions were successful.

The office is also involved with the continued operation of the smoke free compliance line, although call volumes have dropped considerably. A total of 1,353 calls were received during the year and the office also dealt with over 700 calls from members of the public.

The office's role in regard to compliance was underlined and reinforced by a national radio and television campaign which was run during the year with the theme, "smoke free is working, let's keep it that way". The campaign reinforced the message that smoke free workplaces promote employees' health and well being and it also reminded people that the compliance line was still in operation.

The office continued its involvement in research into tobacco control programmes during the year. In conjunction with the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, it funded the all-Ireland bar workers study conducted by Dr. Shane Allwright of TCD. This study monitored the effects of working in bars North and South and compared and contrasted the effects of working in a smoke free environment as against one where smoking is permitted.

This showed that among non-smokers, cotinine concentrations in the saliva declined by 80% in the South and by only 20% in the North. Cotinine is a breakdown product of nicotine. Work-related exposure to tobacco smoke dropped very significantly in the South but only slightly in the North. Exposure outside work decreased significantly in the South but increased in the North. This is a potentially significant finding and may indicate that the underlying public health message is getting through to people generally. Also, in the South, there was a significant drop in the number of bar staff reporting respiratory symptoms.

In regard to smoking prevalence, the office continues to monitor this important indicator. In recent years, smoking prevalence has fallen significantly — from 31% in 1998 to 24% in 2005. Unfortunately, there was a slight reversal of the downward trend in 2005 as against 2004 and the office believes that this indicates a need for a sustained anti-smoking campaign.

On a more encouraging note, a public opinion survey commissioned by the office showed that there is widespread support for the smoke free at work initiative. Some 93% of people think the measure was a good idea, including 80% of smokers; 96% of people think the measure is successful, including 89% of smokers; and 98% of people think that workplaces are now healthier, including 94% of smokers.

This widespread support is very encouraging and it shows that public opinion is likely to be supportive of other measures intended to reduce the harm caused by tobacco because, make no mistake about it, despite recent progress, smoking continues to be the number one avoidable cause of mortality and morbidity and there is a compelling case to be made for the re-intensification of our efforts to respond effectively to the challenge.

On this point, Senators may wish to note that my Department is currently heavily involved in defending a challenge to the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts which has been initiated by the tobacco industry. The case is currently in the High Court and is likely to go to a hearing towards the end of the year. In addition, my Department has recently concluded a consultation process on prohibiting the sale of cigarettes in packs of fewer than 20 and I expect to be in a position to announce a date for the implementation of this measure shortly.

During the summer I had the pleasure of attending a major conference in Washington on the tobacco issue. I had the honour of accepting an award on behalf of the Government, although I felt a little guilty since I was not that directly involved in——