The tension between freedom of choice and radical public health measures will always spark arguments about the 'nanny state.
However, when it is a super junior minister in the Department of Health who is taking on the role of persecuted smoker, it adds a whole new twist to the debate about how far the State should go in protecting citizens from our growing list of lifestyle vices.
The reality is that Disability Minister Finian McGrath's wish to reverse the smoking ban and introduce designated areas for smokers and non-smokers in public places instead is as redundant as a pile of old pub ashtrays at this stage.
Smoking is the main preventable cause of premature death.
And the evidence is also fairly emphatic at this point that non-smokers who breathe in clouds of second-hand smoke with prolonged exposure are at greater of risk of disease, including lung cancer.
It is always difficult to prove cause and effect, but since the introduction of the 2004 smoking ban here the percentage of the population lighting up has dropped to around 20pc.
This is also being linked to a fall in smoking-related deaths.
The ban itself may not be the full catalyst but, combined with higher taxes and stronger and more graphic health messages, it has had a major role in changing culture and habits.
Source: Eilish O'Regan, Irish Independent, 17/05/16
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
