Office of Tobacco Control report confirms continuing high levels of compliance with smoke-free workplace legislation

The Office of Tobacco Control announced today (Thursday, 9 December 2004) that in the six months since the smoke-free workplace legislation was introduced, over 94% of premises inspected were compliant with the law.  According to the second Implementation Progress Report published on the Office of Tobacco Control’s website today, nationwide compliance with the Smoke-Free Workplace legislation has been consistently high at over 90% for the period April to September 2004.  A total of 26,627 inspections / compliance checks were conducted over the six month period. 

A breakdown of compliance levels reveals that compliance in respect of the smoking prohibition i.e. no one smoking and no evidence of smoking in contravention of the law (Section 47) is high.  Compliance levels are reported at:
- 94% in hotels;
- 99% in restaurants;
- 91% in licensed premises.

The small decrease in overall reported compliance levels (from 97% in April to 94% in September) is indicative of a concentration of inspections on non-compliant premises, together with enforcement actions requiring repeat inspections. 

Welcoming the report, Dave Molloy, the OTC’s Chief Inspector, said “Six months on, clean, healthy smoke-free environments are now a normal part of everyone’s work and social life.  We are pleased with the consistently high levels of compliance indicated in this report which together with recent research conducted by the Department of Health and Children reporting 95% agreement that the legislation is a positive health measure, reflects how steadfast the public support for this measure remains. 

The compliance levels are also a testament to the work of environmental health officers and the health boards in building compliance with the legislation together with enforcement actions where necessary.”

Mr Molloy also stated that, “We are delighted with the high level of support and compliance with the legislation from employers, managers, proprietors and the public – smokers and non-smokers alike.  Unfortunately, there have been a small number of offenders who have flouted the law (to date 11 premises have been prosecuted).  In respect of persistent non-compliance with associated repeat inspections, our focus has shifted from compliance building to enforcement action.  It is important to sustain and build on these high levels of compliance as reported today and the Inspection Programme will continue in support of this.”

The effectiveness of the smoke-free workplace compliance line 1890 333 100 is also a reflection of the ease with which the legislation has been implemented and enforced.  In the six month period of the report, a total of 2,555 calls were made to the compliance line.  In the first month of the legislation, calls to the compliance line peaked at 1,524 and have followed a downward trend since to 145 recorded in September.  The downward trend suggests that, notwithstanding an initial adjustment period, compliance levels are high.  Complaints accounted for 57% (1,448) of the total number of calls to the compliance with 61% of these in respect of licensed premises. 

The Smoke-Free Workplace Legislation Implementation Progress Report April – September 2004 report draws its data from the smoke-free workplace compliance line and the National Tobacco Control Inspection Programme. A full copy of the report, including a breakdown of national compliance data by health board, is available on the Office of Tobacco Control’s website www.otc.ie