Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Health

12:15 pm

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank all the witnesses for their presentations. The Minister has set the target for 2025 but does the Department and the HSE have a five-year target? How will the progress on reaching targets be monitored? Will we break down the 2025 period into five-year time periods and set targets for each period? I understand the Government in Australia has set out targets for tobacco control and I wonder if we can keep track of what is being done in terms of targets in Australia?

The third issue I wish to raise is smoking during pregnancy. Have we tailored a campaign to target women because of the high health risks of smoking during pregnancy? Have we conducted studies recently on the impact of information given by GPs and medical practitioners to that particular group? I think it is important that we aim information at adults on the risks associated with smoking during pregnancy. Have we new information in that regard? What is the HSE doing specifically in that area?