Mr. Paul Gilligan:

The Children's Rights Alliance welcomes the opportunity to present its views on this issue. The alliance is a network organisation with more than 100 member organisations. We want an Ireland where children are valued and where it is the one of the best places in the world in which to be a child. We have been involved in a number of campaigns down through the years, the most important, perhaps, being the constitutional referendum campaign.

We support the public health (standardised packaging of tobacco) Bill 2013 and commend the Minister on driving it forward. We believe this is a core children's rights issue. Other witnesses have articulated very well the type of on the ground issues confronting young people who do not want to smoke. Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child holds that State parties shall recognise the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. This extends beyond the provision of appropriate prevention or treatment and includes the implementation of programmes that address the underlying determinants of health. There is no doubting the research in this area, which states that smoking has a detrimental affect on people's health.

One of the starkest statistics from the recently published Government report, Tobacco Free Ireland, highlights that 78% of smokers commence smoking regularly before the age of 18. The indication is that this statistic is even higher for the UK. This is a children and young person's issue. There may be arguments against this initiative, but the Children's Rights Alliance finds it hard to understand any of them. The concept that packaging is nothing other than marketing or branding cannot be disputed. Cigarette companies would not spend millions on marketing and development of these types of fancy packaging if they did not believe it encouraged people to buy cigarettes. We believe a standard plain package which contains a strong health warning, perhaps similar to the one being introduced in Australia, would be the best way forward.

Research on the effects of plain packaging of cigarettes is still at an early stage. However, research from Australia indicates that this type of packaging would result in a reduction in the number of children who try smoking, a reduction in the number of children who become regular smokers, an increase in the number of adult smokers giving up smoking and an increase in awareness among children of the dangers of smoking. We strongly support this legislation, as we believe this is a core children's rights issue.