SMOKE-FREE THIRD level campuses will soon be the norm across the country, it was claimed yesterday.

Anti-tobacco group ASH Ireland organised a seminar at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin today to explore ways of expanding the country’s smoke-free sector.

A number of third level campuses are already smoke-free with some of the largest universities in the country beginning the process to ban tobacco.

Speaking at the seminar this morning, Dr Patrick Doorley, chairman of ASH Ireland said: “This seminar is building on the decisions already taken by Westport College and Athlone IT to implement a smoke-free campus policy.

Ireland has been a world leader in the fight against tobacco for well over a decade and we now have an opportunity to take the lead in Europe with this initiative.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who introduced the workplace smoking ban in 2004, said more must be done to ensure more people get off tobacco products.

He said: “One important thing we need to guard against is any sense that the smoking ban was any sort of an end point in the battle against tobacco.

“The smoking ban was an important breakthrough, but the tobacco industry continues to work very hard and spend huge sums of money to find new customers, and develop new ways to get those customers hooked on consuming their products.”