Sligo/Leitrim TD calls for smoking ban for outdoor spaces such as beaches and park

Smoking should be banned in outdoor spaces such as parks and beaches Sligo/Leitrim TD told the Leitrim Observer this week. 

He said that Ireland has to "lead from the front when it comes to public health" as it did back in 2004 when it was the first country to bring in a smoking ban.

While there has been a decline in the number of young people who smoke in the country, "vaping has been an issue. It has been successful but you also have unintended consequences as well and I think that we need to regulate vaping to a certain extent and that is what the government does."

READ MORE: Leitrim TD urges action in Dáil over severely strained dermatology services in north west

His comments come after the Irish Heart Foundation has asked the government to follow in the steps of France where they have now prohibited smoking in areas such as beaches and parks.

Deputy Feighan noted that Ireland was the first county to bring in the smoking ban back in 2004 and it "saved thousands of lives and it was a ground-breaking ban. There was a lot of opposition to it at the time but I myself was not opposed to it."

He added that smoking still kills 4,500 people every year in Ireland. 

READ MORE: Court bans Leitrim pensioner from driving for two years over insurance fail