An innovative campaign that aims to stamp out smoking on school buses was implemented in Co Donegal yesterday.
"Smoke Free Buses - Get on Board" hopes to ensure all buses are smoke-free environments by highlighting the fact that smoking on school buses is illegal.
More than half the bus drivers within the piloted region, which covers 10 schools, took part in the information session in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, to express their views on how a smoke-free service could be secured.
The campaign, which is being run by Bus Eireann and the North Western Health Board, hopes to tackle the problem by monitoring buses and holding information sessions in schools to raise awareness of the health risks associated with smoking and passive smoking.
"If 1 per cent of students smoke on a bus it can pollute the whole bus within minutes," said Mr Barry McNulty, a spokesman for the health promotion service of the North Western Health Board.
"The implications of passive smoking in this environment are very serious." Parents are encouraged to be proactive in the campaign and leaflets explaining how they can help tackle the problem have been distributed with bus tickets.
Any incident of smoking on a school bus is reported to the area inspector. The inspector will then bring the matter up with the student. If the problem persists, school authorities and the student's parents are notified and in certain cases the student's bus ticket may be revoked.
A spokesman for Bus Eireann said the company welcomed the campaign. "We welcome any initiative which ensures that people follow the regulations when travelling."