EU: EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou has urged member states to follow the Republic's lead and introduce an EU-wide ban on smoking in public places.
He also signalled that the European Commission was considering introducing tough anti-smoking laws throughout the EU to protect passive smokers and to persuade smokers to quit.
A proposal to impose an EU-wide ban on smoking in public places is a key option floated in a commission Green Paper on smoke-free environments, published yesterday.
The consultation paper indicates its preference for a total ban on smoking in public places across all EU states, saying: "The commission considers that the policy of the widest possible scope would bring the biggest benefit to public health."
However, it also suggests less prescriptive measures, such as setting guidelines for states to follow or taking no action at EU level.
At the launch of the paper in Brussels yesterday, Mr Kyprianou said passive smoking killed more than 79,000 adults a year in the EU. "The evidence from European countries with comprehensive smoke-free policies is that they work, produce results and are popular," he said. "A comprehensive ban is also much easier to enforce."
The paper praises the initiative taken by the Republic in March 2004 to introduce Europe's first total ban on smoking in the workplace. One in four Irish smokers have cited the new legislation as a motivation to quit, while 88 per cent of those who gave up say the ban has stopped them starting again.
The proportion of smoke-free households increased by 8 per cent after the ban came into effect, according to the paper.
A number of other states have also enacted tougher tobacco laws. Tomorrow, France joins Italy and Scotland in banning smoking from public buildings.