Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Given the number of people who smoke and the numbers of cigarettes manufactured, does the Tánaiste, as a doctor, know what actually goes into these products? Do people understand how dangerous cigarettes are? It really annoys me that people can go anywhere at this time and find contraband products available. What is the difference between legal and illegal cigarettes? As a member of the health committee some years ago, when we asked people who appeared before us this question, nobody seemed to be able to tell us what actually goes into cigarettes. Whatever it is, it is very bad.

What is the amount of money involved in treating smokers? Thanks be to God, I do not smoke. We should be trying to encourage people to go off cigarettes. Most of those who smoke do not want to keep smoking and want help to stop. Is there any chance that the money that will be raised from the extra 50 cent being put on the cost of a pack of cigarettes from midnight could be used to help people to break the habit? Smoking is an addiction and many people want help to overcome it.

I have listened to Members criticising the budget. It is a good budget. In fact, it is really hard to find anything wrong with it. In fairness, the Government has ticked every box and dotted all the i's. The problem of smoking is not going to go away. There are large numbers of people in hospital and dying from smoking-related disease, including young people who will leave young families behind them. I am saying we should do something good with this budget by doing something decent with the 50 cent increase. The income it creates will amount not to thousands or hundreds of thousands but millions of euro. There is a possibility to see whether we can do something to try, once and for all, to deal with this issue. The moneys raised could be used for research and to help people.

As I said, I do not know what goes into a cigarette. I smoked one cigarette in my life, behind one of the classrooms in school, because I wanted to be popular with my friends. I took a puff and, thanks be to God, found it absolutely dreadful. This is a good budget and it would be even better if we could use it to help people who want to stop smoking. We must do something serious to deal with smuggling and the illegal trade in tobacco. If we do not know what is in legal cigarettes, how can we know what is going into the illegal ones?

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