Ms Averil Power:

As was mentioned, there are moves at EU level to restrict this. As with alcohol, there are restrictions on sales at airports and in duty-free shopping areas but if one buys a product in another country and pays the tax on it, one is entitled to bring it in one's luggage. That creates problems for us, as a country that has led on tobacco. We increased prices to make cigarettes more expensive here but people are getting around that by going to Spain and other countries, buying them more cheaply on the high street there and then bringing them home in their luggage. That is definitely an issue that we would welcome the Government considering.

The Deputy is not much younger than me; we are members of the same generation. He is certainly better than me in terms of being able to withstand all the marketing and never smoke. I did smoke. As the Deputy stated, it was very popular back then. Cigarettes were pushed at you so much when we were younger. I took up smoking in school and it took me a long time to quit, and it was very difficult to do so. I know exactly how difficult it is. Thankfully, I managed to quit while I was in college. I know exactly how difficult it is for people such as the older people to whom the Deputy referred who have never been able to break that habit. These products are designed to be addictive. They have become more addictive through the years. They are designed to make sure that the older gentleman who was mentioned will still be smoking and a loyal customer of a particular cigarette brand until he goes to his grave. The more we can do to ensure young people do not take it up in the first place and do not have to go through the trauma and difficulty of trying to quit, the better.