Second Interim Report of the
Sub-Committee on Health and Smoking

The Oireachtas Joint-Committee on Health and Children Report on Health and Smoking was published in November 1999 (referred to hereafter as the "1999 Report"). The recommendations of the 1999 Report are contained in Appendix 1. In January 2001, the Committee decided to establish a Sub-Committee on Health and Smoking (to be referred to hereafter as "the Sub-Committee") with the terms of reference as set out in Appendix 4 of this report.

The members of the Sub-Committee are:

Deputy Batt O’Keeffe (Chairman)
Deputy Gay Mitchell (Vice-Chairman)
Deputy Cecilia Keaveney
Deputy Brendan Kenneally
Senator Camillus Glynn
Senator Mary Jackman
Senator Kathleen O’Meara

The Sub Committee met on:
In Private Session on 7 March 2001
In Private Session on 12 April 2001
In Private Session on 22 May 2001
30 May 2001
6 June 2001
7 June 2001
In Private Session on 14 June 2001
In Private Session on 11 July 2001
In Private session on 24 July 2001

The Sub-Committee heard evidence from:

• Dr. Fenton Howell, Chairman of ASH Ireland.
• Professor Luke Clancy, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) and the Peamount Chest Hospital.
• A delegation from the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)
• Ms. Elaine Glynn and Ms. Anna Gunning
• A delegation of senior civil servants from the Department of Health - Mr. Tom Mooney, Mr. Noel Usher, Mr. Chris Fitzgerald and Mr. Gearoid Ó Dufaigh
• Mr. Tom Power, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Tobacco Control.

The following representatives of the tobacco industry have been invited to attend but so far have declined to do so (See Appendix 2):

• John Player & Sons.
• P.J. Carroll & Company Limited.
• Gallaher (Dublin) Limited.

On 14 June 2001, Deputy Gay Mitchell was appointed Rapporteur to the Sub-Committee.

The full text of evidence given by witnesses is appended (Appendix 8)

Evidence was taken under oath.

Acknowledgements
The Sub-Committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of all those who made written and oral presentations to the Sub-Committee. The Clerk to the Oireachtas Joint-Committee on Health and Children, John Hamilton and his colleague, Jackie Leavy are deserving of particular mention. The Sub-Committee also wishes to express its appreciation to Brian Nolan and Michael Scanlon, researchers to the Sub-Committee.

Gay Mitchell T.D.
Rapporteur to the Sub-Committee
July 2001