Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Education is the way to go on dealing with the cigarette issue. The cost of cigarettes is one element in getting people off smoking, but education in primary and secondary schools is also very important. The pressure from young children who come home to their parents having learned of the dangers of smoking in school is very significant. Education is a key aspect of reducing the health hazard posed by cigarettes. Cigarettes are a drug of addiction. They are very addictive. If one has tried to get people off cigarettes, one will know it is very difficult. It is a social, psychological and physical addiction. If one can prevent that by stopping people smoking, all the better. There are social aspects to smoking. It is a social expression of one's individuality and youth to take up cigarettes. It is anti-establishment. We should tackle smoking in that sense as well as by banning completely the advertising of cigarettes. If one looks at the success of the smoking ban introduced in 2004, one sees that it was self-policing. It was an instant success. While we are not discussing other drugs this evening, alcohol and sweet drinks are also huge social issues. We should introduce an awareness of alcohol, which is probably the single most destructive drug in Ireland, vastly outweighing that of illegal drugs. It was disappointing that there was no increase in the excise duty on alcohol this evening.

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