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White paper - too little, too late!
Commenting on the White Paper proposals issued
today Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the Health Promotion
Agency,
said: “This document shows that in some areas it is
too little, in most areas it will happen too late. The White
Paper could be described as having a scatter gun approach.
It looks like a number of health topics have been picked
out of a hat and suggested solutions have been thrown at
them. Key public health issues, such as mental health, have
been ignored, while physical activity has been skimmed over.
There is a lack of integration, of strategic thinking nor
is there any sign of a coordinated approach with this document.
The fact that there is no integration means that individuals,
families and communities cannot make positive decisions about
their health.
“The proposals are laced with could be’s
which would make you wonder if they will ever fall in place
at
all. The Government has wasted the chance to give all those
involved in public health strong support and to protect its
citizens.
“We are pleased that at last Government is proposing
to do something about the problem of smoking in public places
and this move is to be welcomed. However, it dramatically
falls short of an outright ban on smoking in that it plans
to make ‘most’ enclosed public areas smoke-free.
“There are loop holes in the proposal which means
that once again those people in the lower socioeconomic groups
will be forced to continue breathing in other people’s
smoke. Research carried out by the HPA shows that most people
in Northern Ireland want smoke-free public places so the
sooner a ban is brought in here the better. The ban in the
Republic of Ireland has been very successful and Scotland
will follow suit by bringing a ban into effect from 2006.
This should have been a major opportunity for the Government
to protect public health but it has missed the mark.
“People need relevant, timely, accessible
information which they can take on board to decide for
themselves about
the choices they want to make which will positively benefit
their health.”
END
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