Sir, – In reference to a generational ban on tobacco (“UK’s ‘generational ban’ on tobacco will give Dublin a headache”, Newton Emerson, Opinion, May 21st) and the debate on the topic by Mark Murphy and Larissa Nolan (“Should Ireland copy the UK’s generational ban on smoking?” May 26th), Ireland led the world in tobacco control but we have unfinished business. Doctors still see the damage first-hand across our health services and are calling for a tobacco-free future.With welcome attention on the UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act, this is a defining moment to lead again, protect future generations and build a healthier Ireland.The global tobacco industry generates profits of $3 trillion each year by entrapping young people in addiction to products it knows kill more than one in two long-term users. Just as concerning is its ability to shape the narratives we use to discuss the problem, diverting attention from its role as the culprit and root cause of devastating harm on a huge scale.When it evokes concern for personal liberty, the tobacco industry distracts our attention from its addictive and deadly products that rob us of our freedom and right to health. When it forewarns us of profiteering criminals, the tobacco industry deflects scrutiny from its own enrichment at the cost of almost 100 lives each week in Ireland. It wants us to forget our history with the workplace smoking ban, which the tobacco industry and critics said would be impossible to enforce. It was a runaway success, defined a decade and changed our health for the better.The public see through the smokescreen and support definitive action. Doctors stand with them. Ireland must act now, eliminate the tobacco industry’s power to addict and harm the next generation, and build a tobacco-free future. – Yours, etc,Dr PAUL KAVANAGH Chair of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s clinical advisory group for tobacco and e-cigarettes,Dublin 2.