Last Friday, 29th March, the country celebrated the 20th anniversary of Ireland’s smoking ban, a step that made Ireland the first country in the world in put in place a nationwide workplace smoking ban. 

The legislation to institute a comprehensive smoking ban was brought in by then Health Minister Micheál Martin TD. It came after years of campaigning from pressure groups, unions, and concerned individuals.

Members of the municipal division of Fórsa’s predecessor union IMPACT, Mark Wynne and Mick McLoughlin took part in the campaign for a smoking ban. 

In 2002, the men brought forward a “landmark motion” calling for a smoking ban to IMPACT’s biennial conference. This motion became part of the campaign for a legislative change that would have what Mick McLoughlin recently described as a “seismic effect on the health of workers.” 

Before the nationwide smoking ban there was a wave of workplace smoking bans in county councils. Mark Wynne played a significant role in the first of these bans which was put in place by Dublin City Council.

Sitting on the council’s health and safety committee, Mark was able to convince the council of the need for a smoking ban. 

This did not come without resistance. Mark remembers how he and the other committee members overcame opposition by visiting depots and workplaces. When they spoke to workers, Mark recalls, "We outlined what we were hoping to do, and most importantly, why we were going to do it."

“At that time, I used to drive a lorry. There’d be three or four men in the lorry and if one was smoking it meant the other three were being affected by passive smoking. It wasn’t a nice experience at all.”

Mark cites the New York City smoking ban in hospitality as providing inspiration. Though it was less comprehensive, it proved that a smoking ban was achievable. 

Since the ban came into force, the number of smokers in Ireland has dropped from a little over one-in-four to a little under one-in-five.

Richy Carrothers, Head of Fórsa’s Local Government & Local Services & Municipal Employees divisions, said “I don’t think it is possible to measure the health impacts of the smoking ban. Workers will live longer, healthier lives in a more pleasant, safer working environment. Today it just seems like common sense, but at the time it was a big deal, and our members were front and central in this fight.”

Despite early scepticism the smoking ban has endured, spreading across the world, with similar bans now in effect in 74 countries. Unions played an important role in the this success, having thrown their full support behind the ban, as covered in the Irish Times in 2003.

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.