Office of Tobacco Control research indicates supportive environment for introduction of smoke-free workplace legislation

Details of smoke-free workplace compliance phone line released

The Office of Tobacco Control has today (Sunday, 28 March 2004) said that, based on several pieces of research, it believes that the smoke-free workplace legislation is being introduced into a supportive public environment.  The Office's Chief Inspector, Dave Molloy, also released details of how their lo-call smoke-free workplace compliance line - 1890 333 100 - would operate.  The line will become operational from 8.00 am on Monday, 29 March.

"There has hardly been a public health measure that has been subjected to as much public and media discussion as the introduction of the smoke-free workplace legislation.  Previously unreleased research, conducted at the end of last year, shows that 84% specifically knew that the legislation would ban smoking in all places of work, including pubs, bars and restaurants.  This research preceded the recent information campaigns conducted by the OTC and the Department of Health and Children, and, as such, we would be hopeful that awareness levels would have increased to even higher levels."

A number of opinion polls have consistently indicated high levels of awareness and strong public support for the measure, and this has been backed by the active support of a wide range of organisations including individual trade unions such as MANDATE, IMPACT and SIPTU as well as the ICTU.  This leads the Office to the view that the smoke-free workplace legislation is being introduced into a largely supportive public environment, Dave Molloy said.

"In relation to compliance in pubs and bars, research conducted for the Office in late January shows that 73% of the public who visited pubs in the previous two weeks were non-smokers, whereas 27% were smokers - so only in the region of one quarter of pub customers are smokers.  Further research we conducted late last year shows that 81% of the public state that publicans should comply with the law, including 61% of smokers.  In this context, we welcome the support of the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland for this measure and also acknowledge the recent announcement by the vintners' organisations encouraging their members to comply with the law.  Indeed, since we in the OTC published our guidance for employers and the licensed trade on our website almost four weeks ago, we have been inundated with calls from employers who are supportive of the new law and are eager to implement it."

Dave Molloy said that the Office would be opening a lo-call smoke-free workplace compliance line - 1890 333 100 - from 8.00 am on Monday, 29 March, as an additional support to build compliance levels with the new law.

"If members of the public are in a workplace, such as a pub or restaurant, where somebody is smoking, they should first go to the person responsible in that place to register their complaint - their name should be on the no smoking signs in that location.  If they don't get a satisfactory response there, they can then call our lo-call, 1890 333 100, compliance line.  The service will be operational between 8.00 am and midnight each day, with an answering service available between midnight and 8.00 am.  The details of their complaint will be passed on to the relevant health board or the Health and Safety Authority within a day of the complaint being made, so that they can visit the premises concerned," Dave Molloy concluded.