HEALTH Minister James Reilly has declared war on smoking, saying he wants a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025.
The minister, whose father and brother died from smoking-related illnesses, said the battle against tobacco is one the Government cannot afford to lose.
"It's the only product I know that is legally, freely available that will kill you if you use it, according to the manufacturers and so on," Dr Reilly said.
"It's a fight that we cannot turn away from and that we can't afford to lose. It's a battle that will continue until it's won and it will be won."
He revealed that a document had been passed by Government, entitled Tobacco-Free Ireland, which aims to have less than 5% of the population smoking within the next 12 years.
Ireland's smoking population is currently 29% - well above the average among OECD countries at 21%.
Dr Reilly is to meet a string of campaign groups later today - including the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, Barnardo's and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland - to discuss "the dreadful damage" of smoking.
Source: Lyndsey Telford, Irish Examiner, 25/07/2013
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