Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We must change the culture which obtains, particularly among young people. It is completely distasteful that, as various investigations have indicated, in developing countries children as young as seven and eight years of age are being targeted by tobacco companies. Tobacco is a drug on which people can become hooked. Targeting those aged seven or eight years flies in the face of all standards which obtain in the developed world in trying to raise children to be healthy, fit and athletic and encouraging them to avoid harmful substances.

Strong action must be taken to tackle the tobacco industry. Those involved in it have been at what they do for a long time, have a great deal of experience and are good lobbyists. In addition, the industry is very powerful and has paid for massive advertising campaigns during the years. We all understand organisations, clubs, societies, big companies, television and radio stations, etc., require advertising revenue in order to finance their activities and ensure they can remain in operation. However, it is important that a balance be struck. The Minister is a doctor and has taken the hippocratic oath. In the light of his experience, he has more knowledge than most of the damage tobacco products can do to people's bodies.

I compliment the Irish Cancer Society, ASH and the hospice movement on the dedicated and passionate work they have done for many years. These organisations made extra special efforts to combat smoking on days such as Ash Wednesday, during Lent and on other occasions. One death annually from smoking is one too many. However, some 5,000 deaths each year are medically classified as having been caused by lung cancer. I have happy memories of a man who worked with my family for 55 years and smoked Woodbine cigarettes all his life. That was the culture. I often engaged in debates about smoking with the man in question who was a very good friend of mine and like a second father to me, but the cigarettes got him in the end. There is no doubt that they lead to people developing awful health problems.

I wish to call into question the standards and ethics which apply in the area of broadcasting. As is the case with alcohol, cigarette smoking can be portrayed, particularly in the case of young women and young men, as being positive and good in the context of their bodies, health and looks, the fashions and styles that they follow, etc. That myth must be exploded and completely dispensed with.

One of our colleagues in the Upper House, Senator John Crown, is lobbying hard to have action taken against smoking in cars. The Minister and his Department are examining the position in this regard. It is extremely uncomfortable to be in a car in which someone is smoking. I would go so far as to say it is an extremely distasteful activity, particularly if a baby or young person is in the vehicle. While I support what is being done in this matter, I do not support many of the Big Brother-style traceability measures introduced - the fact that people must have cards for everything - the intrusions into people's homes and so forth. Despite the fact that many cars now have air conditioning systems, it must be recognised that they remain confined spaces and that smoking within them can have extremely adverse effects on all occupants. I will support whatever measures are taken in respect of the issue to which I have just referred. I also support the Bill before the House. In the past we proceeded on the basis of agreement. Now, however, we must take cognisance of and enact the ruling handed down by the European Court of Justice. I ask the Minister to deal with this most serious issue.

While I accept the needs of my colleague, Deputy Finian McGrath, I support the idea of making the Leinster House complex a smoke-free zone. While I lobbied against the prohibition of smoking in licensed premises and hotels, the decision to introduce such a prohibition was one of the best ever made. The tobacco industry did not collapse as a result of it. Even though I was not then a Member of the House, when the prohibition was being introduced, I was lobbied strongly by small businesses in my constituency which were concerned that their trade would be diminished.

Trade was diminished somewhat but they are still in business. Trade is not flourishing but they are doing well. Freedom of choice must be acknowledged, but it comes at a cost. I refer in particular to the costs for the Exchequer and the Department of Health. The Minister for Health could do with any savings that could be made, but there is a cost to treating the ailments caused by smoking. Information to discourage smoking should be made available in schools at all levels, including preschools.

We are debating the smoking of tobacco, but I completely abhor the smoking of other substances which are even more harmful and dangerous.

The Commission for Tobacco Control is anxious that the legislation be amended as soon as possible. In the interim, the draft regulations were signed by the Minister in December 2012. This is a worthy subject to be discussed as one of the first items of business to be dealt with in 2013. It will be argued that the regulation of smoking will mean job losses in the advertising sector as well as losses to the Revenue Commissioners.

I refer to Deputy Kelleher's contribution in which he stated that the tobacco companies have increased their profits in recent years. The tobacco lobby is very powerful and it is all about profit. I refer to good investigative television programmes about the importation of tobacco products by way of Northern Ireland. These products are very noxious and are dressed up in cigarette packets. This activity must be tackled in the strongest possible fashion. The ingredients alleged to be in these cigarettes are a cause for great concern and are shocking. There is a need for urgent action to counteract these activities, as is the case with laundered fuel. The imports are depriving the State of valuable revenue. These products are freely available, if not openly. The programme makers had no difficulty in buying these cigarettes, which cost less than legal products. The public should be warned that these are deadly products. I note that cigarette packets contain a warning about possible damage to health through smoking.

I meet constituents who lobby me about issues such as poor housing conditions, for example. I have noted that in many such houses, the two people are smokers. I have often said to them that the cost of smoking, at €10 a packet, adds up when they smoke 20 cigarettes a day. There are competing demands for money and services in any family. I sympathise with and encourage anyone who is trying to stop smoking. The best part of a family budget is often spent on cigarettes, which is detrimental to the overall well-being of the family. The budget for food may often suffer. Thankfully I have never smoked, except when I experimented with it as a schoolboy, just as everyone else did. It is said that smoking affects the appetite and a person who smokes may not have a good diet. Many of the old cigarette brands such as Woodbine and Sweet Afton have been banished from the shelves because cigarettes are all tipped now.

Smoking is a serious issue and we must do all we can, as legislators, to encourage people to cut down on smoking. We must ensure our young people are educated about smoking and the damage it does. Smoking is often to blame for house fires and car fires. It can often be a combination of cigarette smoking and alcohol. A person may nod off to sleep leaving a cigarette which has not been extinguished sufficiently. I wish the Minister well in his endeavours.

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