Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. While I cannot provide costings for measures, I am sure the Department could do so and I am certain the cost of providing nicotine replacement therapy to pregnant women who smoke would be far outweighed by the subsequent costs of providing medical treatment for babies and mothers. Are figures available for the number of people who avail of nicotine replacement therapy under the medical card scheme?

On the issue of contraband being brought in through airports and ports, I hear a great deal about tobacco being brought in from the North. There are many minor roads in the Border region. Is anything being done to prevent illegal trafficking of tobacco from the North? It is easy to smuggle tobacco that has been brought into Northern Ireland into the Republic. I know from people who work in Dublin Airport that there is a crackdown on the smuggling of cigarettes at the airport and its security system has become much more advanced recently. I do not believe there is correlation between higher tobacco prices and the number of contraband cigarettes. The higher the price, the larger the number of smokers who quit.

The Minister is correct about people who give up smoking putting savings aside in a jar. I know people who have been able to take two holidays in one year paid for from the savings they made from giving up smoking. They were blown away by this because they did not realise they smoked so much or spent so much on the habit.