Archive for the ‘Tobacco and drugs’ Category

Why no cafe bars?

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

The Irish Times reports on a forthcoming government report on alcohol, and the numerous suggestions made in it, including more stringent rules around advertising (none on TV before 9pm, no outdoor advertising, no sports sponsorship), minimum price floors (and bans on discounts for bulk purchases) and more aggressive health monitoring. I ...

Drink driving in Ireland

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Fianna Fáil backbenchers have been predictably reactionary in their response to the proposal to reduce the drink driving limit in Ireland. However, there have been some interesting suggestions from the head of Macra na Feirme (the young farmers' association), who has largely supported the change, while looking for policy changes ...

New licensing legislation

Friday, April 15th, 2005

Interesting to see Irish government plans for an overhaul of alcohol licensing laws. Much attention has been paid to the proposal for 'cafe bars' which will be under 130 sq. m (that's 1300 sq. ft.) and that's certainly an exciting move but I'm also interested in seeing what they're going ...

TCD and cannabis

Saturday, February 26th, 2005

This is interesting. Students at TCD in Dublin have voted against having their Union push for TCD to become a 'safe' zone for consumption of cannabis

Another smoking ban

Wednesday, January 26th, 2005

Yet another country is following the lead of Ireland in restricting smoking in public places:Cuba, the home of the cigar, is to ban smoking in public places. From February 6th smoking will not be allowed in offices, shops, cinemas and buses. More than half of all adults in ...

Bhutan bans smoking in public

Friday, December 17th, 2004

And people thought the Irish ban was comprehensive:Bhutan has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in public as well as the sale of tobacco. Smoking in the Himalayan kingdom will now only be legal in private homes. The government says it has introduced the ban for the well-being of ...

Traffic safety in Ireland and Illinois

Wednesday, December 8th, 2004

A question that came up in conversation with friends recently was the question of road deaths. Specifically, how does Ireland compare to Illinois? Well, it took a full 10 minutes of googling, but I now have an answer. Ireland had 336 road deaths in 2003, though 2004 figures are already at ...

Drugs and sport

Saturday, August 21st, 2004

The Irish Times had an interesting piece by the academic Lincoln Allison, in which he advocated for the use of drugs in sport. I was fascinated. I felt there was something problematic about it - especially his contemplation of corporate (drug company) sponsorship of athletes, as walking billboards - but ...

Alcohol-free events in breach of alcohol licensing laws?

Wednesday, August 11th, 2004

An amazing story in the Irish Times reveals that publicans are being raided, and prosecuted, for running alcohol-free events for teenagers. Is it because alcohol is actually being served, or because teenagers are bringing in their own drink? No, it's because of a strict interpretation of the (recently enacted) law ...

The smoking ban in Ireland

Monday, March 29th, 2004

So, one day down, and so many yet to go. Heading around Galway today, in the wake of the new smoking ban was interesting, and invigorating for someone like myself who is a non- (anti-) smoker. From lunchtime, spent in a cafe, Banana Phoblacht, that generally has one degenerate smoker ...