Malta has recently been taken as an example to be followed. It is not normal that this happens, so when it does, it is something that ought to make us proud.
When launching a E72 million anti-tobacco drive the European Union health chief said he wanted other European nations to follow the example of Malta, Ireland and Italy in banning smoking in public places.
The EU drive is targeted at keeping young people from taking up the habit of smoking. It is estimated that 80 per cent of smokers light up their first cigarette in their teenage years. EU health chief Markos Kyprianou, himself a former cigarette addict, said that “once hooked, it is a habit that takes many of them to an early grave”.
Malta pre-empted the EU on this issue, and together with Italy and Ireland, introduced an across the board ban on smoking in public places. As in everything else in this country, the government’s decision created a controversy, with owners of public places, in particular bars, claiming that they would lose their business.
The government went ahead with its plans and introduced the smoking ban. People needed to change their habits, and initially it might have been hard, but all was done for a good reason – that of safeguarding people’s health, especially that of non-smokers who, much to their displeasure, had to inhale others’ smoke.
No bars or other places of entertainment are believed to have closed because of this issue. Of course, many of the owners will claim that they have lost a part of their business, but then it could be said that they may have gained other clients who used to shun their outlets just because of cigarette smoke.
Smokers have had to adjust to the new scenario, and it has not become a common site to see them huddled on the doorstep of an establishment smoking. The cold winter we are having has made it all the more difficult for them.
Yet, it could be that the smoking ban has helped them cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke, although it may also be that unfortunately they make up for it during other times of the day.
One also has to see whether the smoking regulations are being followed to the letter in all public places. There might be occasions when there is abuse and when abusers get away with it. In this regard, it would be good to hand down a few fines to act as a deterrent. If any have been given, these should be made public.
Still, it must be said that smokers today feel, rightly so, at a disadvantage. Whereas, in the past, most just slipped a cigarette into their mouth and lit it without as much as giving a thought to people nearby, today they are more careful about it. Non-smokers who, in the past simply had to endure other people’s bad habit and could do nothing about it, today have the law on their own side and can face an offender knowing that they are in the right.
It must be remembered that tobacco is the single largest cause of death in the EU. During the launch of the EU campaign, it was said that it accounts for 15 per cent of all deaths and 25 per cent of all cancer deaths. The economic cost of smoking – from health care to lost work days – is around E100 billion a year.
Mr Kyprianou insisted that member states should resist opposition from the tobacco lobby and ban smoking from workplaces, restaurants, cafes and other public buildings. So far, a common EU law on the issue has been ruled out as the EU prefers individual governments to handle the matter.
Malta has already done so. When the local smoking ban was about to be introduced, those against it used the argument that we should not be the first to take the plunge. Seeing the benefits of the smoking ban, Malta should be proud that it set an example.