No plan for EU-wide smoke ban law

EU: The EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne, will not introduce community-wide legislation on tobacco in the workplace.

He ruled out any such measure in response to speculation by hospitality industry sources that EU legislation would be used as the basis for a challenge to the smoking ban which is due to come into effect here on March 29th.

"I am not bringing forward legislation on this issue," he said. "In fact. I am coming to the conclusion that the smoking issue is best dealt with by each member-state. While it is my strong ambition to see a reduction in smoking throughout the EU, this is best done at member-state rather than community level."

Malta and Norway are due to introduce workplace smoking bans later this year, with other European states considering similar action in 2005. In an address to the EU health conference, "Promoting Heart Health - a European Consensus", Mr Byrne said addressing risk factors for cardiovascular disease offered the possibility of "massive personal, social and economic benefit".

Noting that a recent Eurohealth estimate put the direct and indirect economic cost of cardiovascular disease at between €70 billion and €135 billion per year in the EU, he said: "This is greater than the total annual EU budget.

"Prevention is not only better than cure, but effective prevention is the structural cure for our health systems' long-term economic problems," he said.