Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At best, those are estimates. At what point does it become counterproductive? Maybe the 75 cent is merely due to inflation, given how rampant inflation has been.

We say that taxation is working and is stopping people from smoking but how do we know it is the taxation that is stopping people from smoking rather than the Government health warnings? Even unhealthy people like me are conscious of the dangers of smoking now. Knowing what is unhealthy does not necessarily stop me pursuing unhealthy pursuits but at least I am more aware than people in my shoes might have been 20 or 30 years ago as to what is healthy and unhealthy. Education with regard to any drug, be it a legal or an illegal drug, is fundamental. I just wonder about punitive measures such as taxation and where the limits of it are.

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