Sir, - The decision by the Minister for Health and Children to ban all advertising of tobacco products from the end of June is welcome. Advertising conveys the message that smoking is socially acceptable, and even pleasurable and sophisticated. It encourages smoking. Advertising revenues received by the print media may influence their editorial policies and deter them from pointing out the dangers of tobacco or the antics of the tobacco industry and those who support them. Advertising bans free the media from their potential conflicts of interest.
Lest anyone should doubt that there is a conflict of interest here, the whine from the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) about protecting commercial free speech and the unfair advantage handed to their UK competitors says it all. The NNI believe that any legal product should be entitled to be freely advertised. Funny that they never mentioned the well accepted restrictions on the advertising of prescription medicines in the mainstream media - legal products that save lives, unlike tobacco which kills nearly 7,000 Irish people every year. Yes, tobacco is a legal product, but it is not a normal product. It is the only product that I am aware of that, when used as intended, will kill you. The scandal here is not that the Minister for Health and Children has moved to ban the advertising of tobacco. The real scandal is the relative silence in the media on the 17 to 20 deaths that occur every day here as a result of tobacco.
We depend on the media to inform us. Rather than whining on about the loss of a few pounds from one of the most corrupt industries that the world has ever experienced, the NNI should let loose their investigative journalists on the tobacco industry. They might begin by telling us who are the tobacco industry in Ireland. Who are those people who profit substantially from the illness and death that tobacco causes? They might find out who the tobacco industry lobbyists are. They might explain to us why many retailers sell cigarettes to young people under 16 years of age.
They might identify and explain why the laws on smoking in public places and restaurants are generally ignored or not enforced. The might find out why tobacco is still legal and afforded protection from most consumer protective legislation. The might find out why tobacco companies give "patronage" in an attempt to circumvent sponsorship regulations.
They might find out whom the tobacco industry favours by bringing them to Formula 1 Grand Prix races as guests. They might find out a lot of things that we deserve to know about the tobacco industry and those who support it. Most of all, they might find out why they have been so silent on this public health scandal that is still with us, and is likely to continue. The chances of that happening, of course, are remote. Have a smoke-free day. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Fenton Howell, Chairman, ASH Ireland, Victoria Terrace, Laytown, Co Meath.