Record levels of compliance with the workplace smoking ban were much trumpeted last week, following the publication of the Office of Tobacco Control’s (OTC) annual report for 2008. However, not everyone is complying, reports Brian Kavanagh
THE NUMBER of workplaces that complied with smoke-free inspections was lowest on licensed premises, an analysis of the latest figures published by the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) has shown.
Indeed, at 89 per cent, the proportion of publicans found to be complying with the smoking ban was substantially lower than the average proportion of compliant working environments across the State, which stands at 97 per cent.
There were also more convictions among publicans for violating smoke-free workplace legislation, with 17 of the 24 prosecutions brought by environmental health officers directed against licensed premises.
A spokesman for the Vintners Federation of Ireland, however, says that it isn’t true that publicans are more susceptible to breaching smoke-free workplace legislation.
“The small number of convictions secured in the context of over 9,000 pubs operating throughout the country, for 363 days of the year, is not material, even though we would prefer it if there were no convictions.
“It must also be recognised that some of these convictions may have been handed out for violations committed in hallways or doorways when inclement weather conditions prevented the patron from going outside.
“What these figures prove is that pubs are extremely compliant and we do not see this as being an issue for our members,” he adds.
There was less welcome news from an independent audit of 1,526 Irish retail and licensed premises, which was carried out by TNS mrbi in 2007.
This audit found that just 36 per cent of underaged people who attempted to buy tobacco on licensed premises were refused.
This was a far lower rate than in other retail outlets, where the percentage refused was as high as 61 per cent.
But overall, retailers shouldered the greater proportion of blame, with 22 out of 23 prosecutions in relation to giving tobacco to minors taken against retail premises.
But OTC spokesman Nigel Fox believes the legislation still acts as a considerable deterrent, and says the OTC is making progress with retailers.
“The fact that there were 23 prosecutions is important in sending a clear message to retailers that where violations take place, prosecutions will be enforced.
“The OTC has initiated a number of information campaigns, chief among them being an information guide for retailers published in four languages, which advises workers to ask for ID when selling tobacco and advises them on how to deal with refusal of sale.
“You’ll notice that there aren’t prosecutions for the entire 3 per cent of workplaces which do not adhere to the smoking ban.
“When breaches are encountered, environmental health officers work with the publican or the retailer and ask for changes to be made.
“Prosecutions are initiated only where this is significant or [where there is] sustained infringement of the legislation,” he adds.
While welcoming the report, Dr Angie Brown, chairwoman of anti-tobacco lobbying group ASH Ireland, says the organisation has serious concerns about the number of prosecutions for selling tobacco to minors.
“We welcome the publication of the report, which indicates that there is such massive support of the workplace smoking ban.
“It is now important that every effort is made to ensure that this level of compliance becomes the accepted norm,” says Brown.
“However, rigorous action must be taken against retailers who continue to sell a dangerous and addictive product to young people,” she adds.
A total of 25,350 inspections were carried out in workplaces around the State by environmental health officers in 2008.
Some 24 cases were brought under the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts resulting in 19 convictions.
In addition, a total of 23 cases were taken over a failure to comply with the sales-to-minors legislation, resulting in 19 convictions.
The report found that last year, 97 per cent of workplaces were compliant with the ban, the highest level of annual compliance since the introduction of relevant legislation under the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts in 2004.
According to Norma Cronin, health promotion manager with the Irish Cancer Society, the report shows the true effectiveness of anti-tobacco legislation, and says one of its greatest achievements has been the protection of workers.
“The annual report really couldn’t be any better,” says Cronin.
“The real success story of the smoke-free workplace legislation is that there is now a 97 per cent compliance rate,” she adds.
Independent testing of working environments also corroborated the OTC’s assessment of nationwide compliance rates.
In an effort to ensure objectivity, the OTC employed the TNS mrbi to conduct a national survey of the public’s perception of the smoking ban in December 2008.
A representative sample of 1,000 people were asked to rate the quality of the atmosphere in their indoor working environment and the last bar or pub they visited.
Impressively, the study reflected the findings of the OTC report with little variance, as 96 per cent of those surveyed replied that on both accounts, the atmosphere was “not smoky”.
Yet the OTC has reiterated that more could still be done.
“Although the rate of 97 per cent has been billed as record compliance, if you look back, the rate of compliance has always been high and has grown incrementally by 1 per cent since the inception of the smoking ban,” according to Nigel Fox, OTC spokesman.
Such a resounding confirmation of the pervasiveness of smoke-free workplaces may be a cause for celebration, Fox says, but the OTC can ill afford to become complacent: “Compliance is moving in the right direction, but we still have a lot to do.”