Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Financial Resolution No. 1 provides for the excise duty increases on tobacco products with effect from midnight tonight. The increase amounts to €1, inclusive of VAT, on a packet of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category, together with pro rata increases for other tobacco products. The price of a packet of 20 cigarettes in the most popular category, assuming the full increase is passed through to the final retail price, will increase to €18.05. The excise duty component of this will be €10.89 and the total tax, inclusive of VAT, will be €14.27. This represents approximately 79% of the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes. The pro rata increase on the price of a typical pouch of roll-your-own tobacco will increase by €1.38 to €26.34.

Ireland is committed to a policy of high taxation of tobacco in order to encourage people to quit smoking, especially younger people. The policy is working. In 2007 almost 30% of people were daily smokers and, by contrast, the Healthy Ireland survey for 2023 showed the figure then was 18%. There has been a significant drop from 29% to 18%. Obviously, we have a ways to go but it is a very important reduction.

Increasing tobacco product taxation is an important public health policy measure to continue this downward trend in smoking rates in Ireland. The increase in tobacco products tax is estimated to yield €69.7 million in a full year. I see this financial resolution as a central part of the Government's policy to encourage people to give up smoking.

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