Prof. Shane O'Neill Supporting smoking ban
They say the ban will save the lives of many Irish people from a debilitating lung disease called COPD, which affects over 100,000 Irish people.
World Health Organisation statistics show that Ireland has the second highest mortality rate from COPD of 28 industrialised nations.
COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, affects well over 110,000 people in Ireland.
Research indicates that the main cause of COPD is cigarette smoking. The disease limits the ability of the lungs to exhale air and causes shortness of breath, wheezing and increased secretions in the lungs.
The consultants, from all over the country, said they believe the ban on smoking in the workplace will reduce the number of smokers, and the exposure to second hand smoke.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease accounts for almost 10,000 hospital bed days a year, the majority of which are taken up in the winter.
Professor Shane O'Neill, from Beaumont Hospital, said that any measures that reduce smoking are to be welcomed in the role they will play in preventing the disease in this country.
He said that much of the debate on the ban has focused on either the economic impact of days lost at work, or the incidence of lung cancer, but the single biggest cause of death from tobacco smoke is COPD.
