Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM / AC
Speeches and Articles
Smoking in Working Places
Smoking was introduced to Europe from the New World at the end of the fifteenth century, yet it wasn't until the twentieth century that smoking became a mass habit. At the beginning of the last century, smoking was actually promoted as being good for your health. By the end of the Second World War, these myths were being undermined by scientific evidence with proved the damaging ill health effects of the habit.
Today, smoking is the biggest single cause of preventative illness and premature death in Wales. It is estimated that smoking causes 114,000 deaths every year in the UK. Smoking is responsible for 84% of lung cancer deaths and 80% of bronchitis and emphysema deaths. Smoking related illnesses costs the NHS £1.5bn a year.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals in the form of particles and gases. 60 of these chemicals are known or suspected carcinogens. The Environmental Protection Agency in the USA has classified environmental tobacco smoke as a class A carcinogen with the same classification as asbestos, arsenic, benzene and radon 1 gas.
Tobacco is a massive global industry. The UK Treasury alone collects £8,055 million per annum in taxable revenue from tobacco products, this compares to the £71m the Government reinvests in anti smoking education and measures to help smokers stop. The number of smokers has drastically reduced over the course of the last thirty years. In 1974 50% of the adult population smoked, this figure has reduced to 26% today. Of these, various surveys indicate that around 70% want to quit.
The main argument driving forward the smoking in public places ban is not ill health caused to smokers. It is the ill health caused to other non smoking people through passive smoking. The anti smoking group ASH for instance calculates that 4,800 lives a year could be saved by banning smoking in public places. Some of the immediate effects of passive smoking include eye irritation, headaches, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Adults with asthma suffer can experience a significant decline in lung function. More seriously it is calculated that non smokers are exposed to passive smoking in the home have a 25% increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer. As a consequence of this overwhelming evidence, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF have highlighted the need to protect from the effects of second hand smoke.
The key to the need for legislation therefore is the need to defend workers, be they waiters, office workers, or bar staff. Employers have a duty to protect their staff and a ban would help protect 3 million workers. Fundamentally, smokers and non smokers alike have a right to freedom from tobacco smoke pollution.
Legalisation for smoke free public places has been successfully introduced in a number of countries including the USA, Canada, Finland, Australia, South Africa, Thailand and Ireland of course who became the first country to outlaw smoking in public places. If the Government of Wales are serious about introducing positive policies in this field, we should be looking to follow the example of our Celtic cousins across the Irish sea.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas is the Welsh Assembly's Shadow Health Minister
