Ms Caroline O'Sullivan:

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, ISPCC, is a child protection and welfare organisation. Our vision is of an Ireland wherein all children are heard and valued. Our mission is to advocate on behalf of all children and to provide a range of independent and unique services that are preventative and empowering in nature. The ISPCC welcomes this opportunity to address this committee on this issue. We welcome the proposed legislation and the developments contained therein.

The ISPCC sees smoking and the targeted marketing of such a fatal product to children and young people as a serious child protection issue. As an organisation dedicated to the protection of children, we believe children should be protected from the preying marketing of tobacco companies. We believe this legislation is a hugely important step in improving the protection and welfare of children and reducing the potential for children to begin smoking. As outlined by Mr. Gilligan and Ms Gayson, 78% of people who smoke began smoking while under the age of 18 years.

In our submission, we referred to head 3 which outlines the purpose of the Bill. The tobacco industry requires the continuous recruitment of new consumers, namely, children, in order to maintain it. New customers are needed to replace those who have quit or died from a tobacco related disease. The ISPCC works directly with children on a daily basis and has approximately 2,000 contacts per day with young people. As such, we can readily attest to what is happening with children every day. We know that children and young people are pressurised by peers to fit in, which is hugely important to them. If a product is targeted as a fun or stylish product or something that makes a person look and feel better about himself or herself, then clearly it is something in which young people will be interested. Bad as this is if the product is the latest shoes, clothing and so on, a lot worse it is if it is something that can seriously damage a young child's health.

The concept of standardised packaging as a means of reducing the likelihood of smoking or making children more aware of the risks involved in taking up the habit of smoking can only be a positive step forward. Advertising and the normalisation of any form of drug usage can be heavily influential to impressionable young minds. Recently conducted research by Ignite Research involved direct contact with young people and includes direct quotes from them, some of which stood out for me and my colleagues. One such quote is: "It’s not even just the cigarettes, it’s the packaging. It’s all the swirls on the pack, the colours, they look fashionable. You kind of want them sitting on the table to be able to say, 'Yeah they’re mine'." This would indicate a level of pride being associated with the fancy box sitting on the table. If that packaging was changed and in future displayed the horrors of what smoking can do to a young person, that level of pride would be taken away and young people would not want it. Some of those surveyed said that if such were displayed on every box, they would stop smoking because they would be too embarrassed to take out the box. This is a clear indication of what can be achieved through this legislation. By changing the branding and packaging, children will not be interested in being seen with this product.

The ISPCC believes that legislation needs to reflect the influential nature of marketing and advertising on children. In this regard, there is a duty of care between the Government and its citizens, and in particular a duty for the protection of children. We believe the legislation should highlight that this is a protection issue. This is not about packaging or cigarettes or a drug. It is about protecting current and future generations of children in Ireland. We believe the legislation should acknowledge this in the context of tobacco products.