Doctors support smoke ban

The Medical Association of Malta has decided to give its full backing to measures to prohibit smoking in public places and encouraged the government to intensify its educational campaigns against smoking.

Such campaigns should not only be directed to further cut the number of smokers but also to encourage a more civil behaviour among smokers, it said.

The MAM added that smokers should not expose the great majority of non-smokers to the risks of their cigarette smoke.

It encouraged those in the entertainment and catering industry to adapt themselves rapidly to the new regulations.

The MAM reminded the public that smoking was a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Thanks to the public campaigns and the progressive increase in the price of cigarettes, the latest studies showed that only about 30 per cent of adults in Malta were regular smokers.

The doctors' association said many scientific studies indicated that non-smokers had a higher risk of these diseases if they just inhaled passive smoke.