Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with everything the Taoiseach said in terms of this being a public health issue. We know the effects, physically and economically, on society of smoking. I would like to see a tobacco-free Ireland. We know the health risks of smoking and I acknowledge the work of the Irish Heart Foundation in this regard. We also know the statistics for those who smoke and get lung cancer and so on. It is great to hear about the downward trend in smoking. However, I believe the reason for the downward trend is due not to the price of tobacco and cigarettes increasing but to the many good preventative programmes in place to help people to quit. Having worked with young people, I know that for girls and increasingly boys, body image is an important issue. Following this line, in terms of health initiatives for young people would be far more effective.

When it comes to addiction, and smoking is an addiction, we are very reactive but not nearly good enough on prevention. As we know, prevention is the Cinderella of the national drugs strategy. I hope that in the new strategy we will see far more emphasis on prevention in education, including in relation to the use of tobacco products. We need to look at what is working and what is not working in terms of young people and smoking. I might have been inclined to vote for the increase if I thought the revenue raised from it would go directly into preventative measures but we know that that does not happen. I am fortunate that I have never smoked.

I know and am surrounded by people who smoke and acknowledge the difficulty for them. Ironically, the packet of cigarettes is the only companion of those on lower incomes. It is a very sad indictment of our society that we hear people saying that. It is those on lower incomes who are most affected.

I have had several meetings with Retailers Against Smuggling, a number of whom are in my constituency. We know about the illicit trade and the losses to the economy. There are regulations and fines in place, but there is great difficulty in enforcing them on the illicit tobacco trade. At least if one buys a packet of cigarettes officially, one knows what one is getting. If one is buying illegally over the Internet, one does not know the content of what one buys. The bottom line is that a packet of cigarettes costs €11 in a shop but only €4 or €5 on the black market. We know where people are going to go and, as such, I do not see the measure contributing to a decrease in the number of smokers.

See this speech in context