Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and am pleased to have the opportunity to debate this comprehensive report from the Office of Tobacco Control. Other speakers have outlined the fact that the main objective of the report and the office is to inform public opinion and build support for tobacco control measures.

The Minister of State spoke about the thrill of being in the United States during the summer and receiving Ireland's deserved reward for the implementation of this measure. I spent a week in France where I noticed the difference between our non-smoking environment and the French smoking environment. As soon as I entered my hotel I wondered what was the terrible smell until it dawned on me that everybody in the lobby was smoking cigars or cigarettes. People were also smoking on the beach around young children. The weather is so sunny abroad that people eat outdoors, but when we went to eat out at night we were bombarded with smoke again. Not only is the smell bad, the smoke also affects one's eyes and throat and leaves a horrible lingering smell on clothes. It is terrible.

This experience brought home to me how lucky we are in Ireland to enjoy such a smoke free environment, particularly in our workplace and social outlets like pubs and restaurants. Whenever we sit on a plane or attend the cinema, we wonder how we ever allowed people smoke in these areas. I hope future generations will continue to ask the same question.

The report outlined stark statistics. I am delighted to hear the compliance rate is 95%. When looking at the nice charts dotted throughout the report, I was surprised to see that fewer than 24% of our population smoke. I thought the figure would have been lower because that is almost a quarter of the population. We should be aiming for a figure less than 24%. Some 93% of people think smoke-free workplaces are a good idea. What happened the other 7%? Perhaps they were not awake on the day of the survey. Everybody in his or her right mind, whether a smoker or not, would like a smoke-free environment. It is great that of the number of premises inspected, 95% were found compliant. I was interested in the Minister of State's report that 35,000 premises were inspected by control officers.

One fifth of teenagers from 15 to 18 years of age continue to smoke. This is alarming and it is sad that many of these young people are probably female. The male-female divide on smoking is 50-50 and as many young women as men smoke. Six thousand people die per year from tobacco related illness and lifetime smokers have a 50% greater chance of developing tobacco related illnesses. These are terrible figures.

Some time ago the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children heard a presentation from thoracic and lung surgeons. They pointed out how important it was for young women, particularly those with a persistent cough, to ensure they had lung and chest X-rays. By 2020, lung cancer will be a predominantly female disease in this country. This is most worrying, particularly when other health risks to which young women are exposed, including excessive drinking, are considered. Earlier today I heard what might have been an advertisement during the Pat Kenny show which referred to a debate running for a number of weeks in conjunction with an open week for the Rutland Centre. Reference was made to a public talk with questions and answers entitled "Wine, Women and Wasted Lives". Today's young women are all bright and well educated. I do not think they even know what is coming down the road at them.

I was delighted to see that the Minister of State's Department will introduce measures to ban the sale of cigarettes in any amount smaller than a 20 pack. Price is a major consideration in the fight against tobacco smoking. If the price is high enough, young people will be deterred from buying cigarettes. I suggest we lobby the Minister for Finance to make substantial increases in the tax on cigarettes in the upcoming budget.

I was also delighted to hear the Minister of State refer to the introduction of pictorial warnings on billboards rather than the digital message. If a message can be set out in picture form, it will have an effect, as has been seen in other instances.

I wish Dr. Michael Boland and his ten member board well. I compliment them on a fine report and on work well done which they should aim to keep up. Their work and the effects of their work will lead to a win-win situation; there are no losers in this one.