Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Reilly for allowing me to share his time slot, as I wish to comment on this important subject. Now that the OTC's responsibilities are to be transferred to the HSE, the Minister of State may wish to comment on a recent statement by the Irish Cancer Society to the effect that there are no specific targets to reduce smoking prevalence anywhere in any HSE service plan. Neither is there a specific strategy to reduce smoking prevalence. In fact, smoking cessation programmes in the community have been reduced. Calls to the national smokers' quit line have been significantly reduced due to the cut in advertising. Awareness programmes are ineffective because they are not extensive enough. I agree with these sentiments. There is evidence to support them.

There are approximately 1 million smokers in Ireland and 6,000 people die every year from smoking related illnesses. We need to take a more proactive approach and it should start in the schools. When I see pupils coming out of school in the evening, I notice that the first thing many of them do is to light up. I also notice the number of school pupils buying cigarettes in local supermarkets. Most of them are girls, which is alarming. I believe they are not aware of the damage smoking does to their health and the problems they are storing up for the future.

In this movement towards responsibility, I hope the HSE will be far more proactive in the future. The Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, has been in her role for a short time and has done much co-ordination work. A more proactive approach must be taken by whoever holds her portfolio in the next Dáil.

Smoking causes 30% of all cancers, including 95% of all lung cancers. Smokers have three times the risk of heart attack as non-smokers. The statistics are clear.

Cigarette smuggling is not being tackled. No one would have objected to an increase in excise duty on cigarettes in the recent budget. If that measure was designed to discourage smuggling, I do not think it will. There are two separate issues. The health issue and the smuggling issue are separate, and the smuggling issue is not being addressed. Cigarettes being smuggled into the country must come through our airports and sea ports. Surely, it should be possible to curb this. Dr. Brian Maurer, chairman of ASH, said recently that tobacco smuggling must be tackled before the market is flooded with cheap cigarettes, with a consequent increase in smoking and tobacco-related illness. The current annual cost to the State of treating tobacco related disease is well over €1 billion. This will increase if prevalence rises. Smuggling means a loss to the Exchequer of approximately €400 million per annum. Unless there is a proactive and aggressive approach in our primary and post-primary schools to point out the physical and mental health effects of smoking we will continue to lose the battle.

It is important to have clear statistics and to make them available. The most recent SLÁN survey showed that 33% of the population smokes. A recent telephone survey showed 26% of the population as smokers. I would say the real figure is closer to 33%. It is important that we have clear statistics and information in order to tackle this problem. The problem starts in primary and post-primary schools. Unless we have a directed policy to address this issue we will continue to have a growing and festering problem of cigarette smoking.

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