Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. The more I hear about the benefits of plain packaging, the more the proposal becomes a slam dunk. The suggestion that a quitline telephone number should be included on packages is a no-brainer and the committee should recommend to the Department of Health that it be included in the Bill.

I acknowledge that Deputy Crown's passion arises from his professional experience but it is not our role as policy makers to demonise manufacturers and, especially, Irish retailers. I have 20 years of experience in marketing. Companies would not spend money on marketing if it did not work. We should take the opportunity to find positive outcomes because they are equally as important as negative outcomes for those who continue to smoke. Those who want to quit smoking should have a positive image to strive towards. When my mother was giving up smoking she set a goal of spending the money she saved on clothes for me. As a teenager, that was an attractive goal.

Retail Ireland needs to engage with the Department of Health to provide for a positive campaign for a healthy Ireland and healthy alternatives for retailers around the country. We have already discussed this issue. They do not want to sell tobacco. They know full well that they would earn much more profit from selling something else, but at the end of the day they are providing jobs and a living for themselves. It is incumbent on us and the Department to try to provide some alternative for them. Perhaps nicotine replacement therapies should be freely available in all retail outlets, as opposed to customers trying to find a chemist that is open at 6 p.m. on a Sunday. We need to be part of the solution in providing equivalent incomes for retail businesses in Ireland, as well as providing positive messages for people who want to quit smoking. As Senator Colm Burke said, we could provide the image of that holiday for the price of a person's ten or 20 cigarettes a day if they gave up smoking, as well as for the improvements to one's lifestyle and overall health. I congratulate the delegates and urge them to keep going. We are nearly there and they have the full support of the committee.

I have a question for Dr. Morgan. On the website of the manufacturers there is all this wishy-washy stuff about how they are involved in ensuring young people do not start smoking and all this wonderful executive language about giving money to buy scouts' equipment. What is the source of the quotes Dr. Morgan read? Where did he get them? That is the kind of stuff we need to refute and promote in the coming weeks when the industry starts to wag its tail and tell us how good it is at ensuring under 18 year olds do not smoke. I would appreciate that information.