Ms Norma Cronin:

I spoke at a conference in Germany recently and the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg is looking to Ireland for guidance. Germany still permits advertising and is very much in the hands of the tobacco industry. We can look at WHO figures. Others might be from the tobacco industry or other research conducted, but Germany is not doing as well as we might think and it is looking to Ireland for support and encouragement. Deputy Catherine Byrne talked about having real posters and graphic images. We know that might work for some, but for young people, some of the research shows that perhaps scare tactics alone will not work. We need to have what is in the schools, the social personnel and health education, SPHE, programme further developed. More needs to be done in school programmes. It is a choice for teachers whether to include it. It must start with education. The images and health effects information will have more impact if there is a broader approach to understanding addiction and empowering young people with refusal skills. That is crucially important for young people, in particular.