Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin supports this Bill as one more important step towards combatting the harmful and devastating effects of tobacco smoking. It brings into focus once again the damage tobacco smoking does to public health and allows us to highlight the physical and emotional pain caused by the tobacco industry.

The ongoing campaign to eradicate tobacco smoking in this State is to be highly commended. The work done by successive Governments in tackling the issue has been world-leading and innovative. The smoking ban introduced in 2004 was the first of its kind in the world. It is great that the State has played such a pivotal role in the battle against the corporate giants of tobacco. The fight for a tobacco-free society, not only by Governments but also by organisations such as the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Heart Foundation, ASH Ireland and many others, is an uphill one. With the right legislative changes, societal education and combined strategies, this objective is, however, achievable, and we must work together every step of the way to ensure it is realised.

While much work has already been done to reduce the number of people who smoke, it is worth noting that slightly less than 25% of the population uses tobacco. Every year, more than 7,000 deaths across the island are related to tobacco smoking, whether they are as a result of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke or emphysema. This is a shocking statistic. The introduction of standardised packaging is important. By eliminating the ability of tobacco companies to market their dangerous product in any capacity and placing an emphasis on health warnings and imagery, we will, I hope, see a reduction in the figures I have cited.

While the impact of these measures may not be ground-breaking, every single person who quits or chooses not to smoke as a result of these and other measures is a success story. The tobacco industry is of no benefit to society and costs the health service €1 billion per annum, families their loved ones and children their parents. It also has a profoundly higher cost in disadvantaged communities than in communities with a higher socioeconomic status. Put simply, it costs too much for too many people. The tobacco industry profits from death, illness and addiction and we owe it nothing. It is estimated that if smoking continues to expand globally at its current rate, it will be the single largest cause of death worldwide before the middle of this century. This is because the tobacco industry's biggest area of expansion is in developing countries, which do not yet have measures in place to prevent the spread of tobacco smoking. The industry is engaged in pure, unadulterated exploitation of those who are most in need.

In Ireland, children start smoking at a younger age - 16.4 years - than in any other European country. Some 78% of smokers started to smoke before the age of 18 years. The Health Behaviour in School Children, HBSC, survey for 2010 showed that 27% of children reported ever having smoked tobacco. This figure constituted a 9% decrease compared to the figure for 2006. While we are moving in the right direction, it is worrying that 12% of children reported being current smokers.

The HBSC study also found that children from higher social class groups are less likely to smoke. Once again, disadvantaged children are affected more severely than their better-off counterparts. As legislators, we have a responsibility to curb this disproportionate impact and do everything within our power to prevent it.

Figures provided to the Irish Cancer Society regarding Australia's plain packaging initiative introduced in December 2012 show a decline in the number of tobacco smokers. The national drug household survey in Australia showed that daily smoking rates fell from 15.1% in 2010 to 12.8% in 2013. While I acknowledge that the precise reasons for this decline remain unclear, and it is not certain that it correlates directly with the recent change in packaging law, it is none the less positive and timely, and we can hope for similar results here.

My party colleague and Member of the European Parliament for the Six Counties, Martina Anderson, has done stellar work as shadow rapporteur in putting the tobacco products directive through the legislative process in Europe. Sinn Féin, as an all-island party, would like to see an all-Ireland approach to tackling the tobacco industry and the effects of tobacco on society. I hope this legislation will contribute greatly to eradicating the temptation for young people to take up this deadly habit.

The removal of branding and its substitution with images showing the health implications of smoking is a welcome move. The cigarette packet is the last marketing tool available to tobacco companies in this State. We must not succumb to pressure from tobacco lobbyists. Tobacco is the only product which, if used as advertised, will kill 50% of users. Any other product that resulted in such a death rate would be banned without hesitation. In this case, however, a prohibitionist approach would not work, whereas a continued combined cross-party and all-Ireland approach will work. Sinn Féin will support the Bill's passage through the House.

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