Ms Kathleen O'Meara:

I thank the Chairman and other members of the committee. Deputy McLellan asked about the tobacco products directive. An incredible amount of lobbying was done around that directive by the tobacco industry. A lot of this took place during the Irish EU Presidency and an Irish civil servant remarked that he had never seen that extent of lobbying and the sheer volume of lobbyists there. Despite that, the tobacco products directive has been passed and will do a number of things, including introducing important regulations concerning e-cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes are also covered by the directive.

A question was also asked about the number of smokers who were quitting in Australia but it is only a year since plain packaging was brought in there. The research I referred to shows, for instance, the high rate of people who are telephoning the quitline, which is a good indicator of intention to quit, although the number who will quit will not be as high. My former colleague, Ms Norma Cronin, who is on the board of ASH, will say it is very important that in the first instance, a person has an intention to quit.

Many members referred to branding.

It was one of the issues considered in the report commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society. People who have contact with teenagers know that branding is of significant importance to them. It is part of the sense of belonging to the group. It creates a sense of status and belonging. It is the hook that brings in the young person.

I was asked how the legislation could be improved. Deputy Seamus Healy asked whether the size of the packet had an influence. We have suggested in our submission to the joint committee that standardising the size of the packet of cigarettes is important - this is backed up by evidence from Australia - in other words, that tobacco companies should not be allowed to change the size of the packet, in particular to produce smaller neater packets because size can be relevant. We want the legislation to ensure there is a standardised size of a packet of cigarettes. Much has been done. Senator Colm Burke referred to the US Surgeon General's report of 50 years ago, but as Deputy Dan Neville said, the report of this committee was very relevant in setting the tone for the workplace smoking ban. A great deal has been done, therefore, in a relatively short period. In that time we have succeeded in de-normalising smoking, in other words, smoking is not considered generally to be a normal activity. For many who are addicted, this is too late. We have to ensure, however, that there are sufficient supports in place for those who are heavily addicted to cease smoking.

Senator Colm Burke asked me to outline the Irish Cancer Society's plans. We have a specific programme with a number of women in two disadvantaged communities in Dublin designing a model which will support them specifically in giving up smoking. The normal advertising messages to quit smoking are not sufficient for particular groups in society. Their smoking habit is linked with other factors such as poverty and dependence. We are designing a particular model and when we have it later this year, we will be very happy to talk about and share it with members of the committee. This is one of a series of developments which, as Dr. Ross Morgan said, represent ground-breaking legislation.