Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate.

At the outset, I recognise that smoking is a personal decision for one who wishes to smoke. I also wish to state clearly that I do not like smoking because I have seen at first hand the damage that it has caused to personal health within my own family. However, I do not lecture those who smoke because I understand that it is an addiction, as spelled out by the previous speaker, that is not easily given up. We need to acknowledge that. I sympathise with those who smoke who genuinely try to give them up, find it increasingly difficult and cannot succeed in doing so. I would support the thought, and any effort, that could be put into resources to assist those who are trying to give up smoking to do so. As I said, I come from a family that has had heavy smokers. Indeed, it has caused heart disease and death in my family. It is for that reason, since I was a young man, that I have opposed the idea of smoking. It was because of the health consequences of smoking.

I listened with interest earlier to Deputy Finian McGrath. It is important in any debate to have dissenting voices and Deputy McGrath made it clear that his was such a voice, to which he is entitled. However, he made the claim that because of this legislation, smokers are being hammered. I would pose the question, "How so?" I suspect that Deputy McGrath was playing the victim here and, I suppose, appealing to smokers such as himself, but there are real victims when we speak about smoking.

The statistics are available and other Members have already outlined them. Between 6,500 and 7,000 smokers die each year in Ireland due to the habit. Approximately, 28,000 persons die each year in Ireland. That figure is down, from 35,000 in 1950, but it is still far too many. I suspect that any hospital consultant who deals with lung cancer or heart disease would say that one can always trace the problem back in many cases to smoking. That is a serious liability on families, but also on the health services. For that reason, I welcome any initiative that has the potential to reduce smoking and the number taking up smoking in this country. There is nothing positive I can say about smoking for the reasons I have outlined.

I take this opportunity to give credit to Fianna Fáil and former Minister, Deputy Martin - something I do not often do. I commend him on the introduction of the smoking ban in workplaces in 2004. It was a progressive move and the Irish people, and smokers as well, responded positively to it. I also commend the Government and the Minister, Deputy Reilly, on his further efforts to reduce the harmful effects of smoking on citizens and society.

The Bill will play some part but it is clearly not the only answer. There has to be a suite of changes, in resource allocation and in legislation to stop the marketing of cigarettes. However, it is an element and it will go some way in reducing smoking.

I have here with me a small advertisement from a packet of cigarettes that was brought to my attention last year. It states on one side that smoking kills and it has all the precautionary messages on it. However, it also markets what the company calls the "ICEBALL" capsule, the purpose of which is to "crush, to experience a fresh burst". That is the experience the smoker would have - a fresh burst of menthol or something like that. It is to make the experience even more pleasant, but it does not say anything about the thousands of lethal bursts of inhalation that smokers taken when they inhale tar and nicotine from cigarettes. It is a cynical attempt by the tobacco industry to make the smoking experience even more attractive. That is wrong, especially when we are aware of the health effects that it can have.

The tobacco industry is vociferously opposing this move. Some Members have said that the Bill will not have an impact. If it would not have an impact, the tobacco industry would not be getting involved to the extent that it is.

4 o’clock

It will have an impact, especially on young smokers of the future. As I stated, cigarette companies have made cigarette packaging attractive. There is pink cigarette packaging to make smoking attractive to young ladies. This legislation is a clear, positive statement by the Government that smoking has serious health implications, and it is not an initiative of a nanny state. Society and taxpayers ultimately pay for the implications of smoking because we must provide health services to treat those affected by smoking-related diseases.

See this speech in context