James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

We are sleepwalking through a public health epidemic and its time we woke up. Every year, 5,200 Irish people die from smoking. That figure is worth reflecting on. Almost one in five deaths is smoking related. This decade, a population with the capacity to fill the Aviva Stadium will die needlessly as a result of this deadly addiction. This year, more people in this country will die from smoking than died during 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Twenty years ago, it seemed an aspirational dream that Northern Ireland could live in peace, but with cross-party consensus and political priority, that was achieved. We have the same cross-party consensus on tackling our smoking rate. If this public health epidemic is given the political priority it deserves, then we will achieve a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025. Standardised packaging of tobacco is the next step towards creating a tobacco-free Ireland.

The Bill will regulate the appearance of tobacco packaging and products. The aim is to make all tobacco packs look less attractive to consumers, particularly children, make health warnings more prominent and prevent packaging from misleading consumers about the harmful effects of tobacco. The Bill will also implement some aspects of the newly adopted tobacco products directive of the European Union. It will give effect to Ireland's obligations under the World Health Organization framework convention on tobacco control.

Standardised packaging means that all forms of branding, including trademarks, logos, colours and graphics, would be removed from tobacco packs. The brand and variant names would be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands, and the packs would all be in one plain neutral colour. We need to introduce this measure because the evidence indicates that tobacco packaging is a critically important form of promotion. Some in the industry call it the last billboard they have. This is more relevant in Ireland where we have comprehensive advertising and marketing restrictions. Standardised packaging is the next step.

The consequence of this legislation is clear. It will protect our children from marketing gimmicks that trap them into a killer addiction. If the tobacco industry did not get our children addicted, it would disappear within a generation. We all know that to be true and so does the industry. To replace the smokers who quit and, sadly, those who die, the tobacco industry needs to recruit 50 new smokers in Ireland every day just to maintain smoking rates at their current level. Given that 78% of smokers in surveys said they started smoking under the age of 18, it is clear that our children are targeted to replace those customers who die or quit.

Research has shown that smokers consuming cigarettes from the standardised packs we intend to introduce are 66% more likely to think their cigarettes are of poorer quality, 70% more likely to say they found them less satisfying and 81% more likely to have thought about quitting at least once a day. They also rate quitting as a higher priority in their lives thanks to standardised packs and we know all of this thanks to the experience in Australia.

I will now take Members through the Bill section by section to clarify its provisions. It is divided into four Parts and the first Part deals with preliminary and general provisions and covers sections 1 to 6. Section 1 of the Bill makes standard provisions setting out the Short Title of the Bill, the collective citation for the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts and arrangements for its commencement. Section 2 deals with its interpretation and defines the meanings of some of the terms used for the purposes of the Bill. Section 3 deals with regulations, allowing the Minister for Health to make regulations to bring the legislation into operation. Section 4 is a standard provision dealing with expenses. Section 5 clarifies that nothing in the Bill operates to prohibit the registration of a trade mark or will be grounds for the revocation of the registration of a trade mark. It also makes clear that nothing in the Bill will affect the law in relation to tax stamps. Section 6 makes transitional provisions that will allow retailers and manufacturers time to comply with the new measures. Current packets may be manufactured until May 2016 and there will then be a one year period to sell outstanding stocks. Non-compliant retail packaging may not be manufactured from May 2016 and may not be sold after May 2017.

Part 2 of the Bill deals with the retail packaging and presentation of tobacco products and covers sections 7 to 14. Section 7 sets out the requirements for the retail packaging of cigarette packets. The Bill specifies that cigarette packets must be a prescribed matt colour on the outside and inside and may not have any decorative features such as ridges or embossing. They must have no coloured adhesives and may not have any marks or trademarks, other than a bar code or similar identification mark. Packets may not have anything inserted or affixed to them apart from items prescribed by law. The colour and decorative feature provisions will not apply to the health warnings that must be printed on packaging or other items prescribed by law.

The Bill allows for the brand, company or business name and a variant name to be printed on the packet but regulations will set the font type, size, colour and positioning of these. The wrapper must be transparent, not coloured, and may not have any decorative features, marks or trademarks or affixed items apart from those provided for by law. It may have a tear-strip, which will be prescribed for in regulations. These provisions will apply to retail packaging of all cigarettes intended for retail sale in the State.

This section also transposes provisions of the 2014 EU tobacco products directive which must be applied to those products for sale in the EU. It sets out that the cigarette packet must be cuboid in shape, although it may have rounded or bevelled edges, made of carton or soft material and may only have a flip-top or shoulder box hinged lid.

Section 8 lays down the requirements for the appearance of cigarettes. They must be white with a white or imitation cork tip. They may have a brand, business or company name and a variant name printed on them but in accordance with regulations that will set the colour, font, size, positioning and appearance. It will be an offence to manufacture, import or sell non-compliant cigarettes. These provisions will apply to all cigarettes intended for retail sale in the State.

Section 9 provides the specifications for the appearance of roll-your-own tobacco packets and they are similar to the requirements for the retail packaging of cigarettes. These provisions will apply to the retail packaging of all roll-your-own tobacco intended for retail sale in the State. This section differs from section 7 in that it allows a unit package of roll-your-own tobacco to be either cuboid in shape, similar to a cigarette packet, cylindrical orin the form of a pouch. As before, these provisions were included as they transpose parts of the 2014 EU tobacco products directive and therefore must be applied to the packaging of all cigarettes for sale in the EU. This section also sets out how the brand, business or company name and variant name is to be printed on different shaped packs. They must be printed in a colour, font, size and so on to be laid out in regulations.

Section 10 provides for the specifications for the retail packaging of tobacco products other than roll-your-own tobacco and cigarettes, for example, pipe tobacco and cigars. It contains the same features as sections 7 and 9 pertaining to colour, decorative features and so on and allows for cuboid and other shaped packets. Section 11 deals with the linings of unit packets of tobacco products and provides that where a lining is present, it shall be of a prescribed colour and material. Section 12 provides that the tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide content shall not be printed on any form of retail packaging of tobacco products. As this provision is transposing part of the 2014 EU tobacco products directive it applies to all tobacco products for sale in the EU. The rationale behind this measure is to ensure tobacco companies cannot advertise in a way that makes certain cigarettes seem safe because they are labelled as "low tar".

Section 13 deals with the general appearance of tobacco products and again transposes in part the 2014 EU tobacco products directive. As before, it therefore must be applied to packaging of all cigarettes for sale in the EU. It is an offence to manufacture, import or sell tobacco products that do not comply with section 13. Section 14 prohibits sound effects, scents and features that alter the appearance after sale.

Part 3 of the Bill sets out offences, proceedings and penalties and covers sections 15 to 19. Section 15 sets out the offences under the legislation. It will be an offence to package, manufacture, import or sell tobacco products that do not comply with sections 7 and 9 to 14, inclusive. However, the Bill provides for a defence if a person can show that he or she made all reasonable efforts to comply with the legislation.

Under section 16 there are three types of penalties for offences under the Act. For a first offence, a person may be liable to a class B fine or six months imprisonment or both. For subsequent offences a person may be liable to a class A fine or 12 months imprisonment or both. On conviction on indictment a person may be liable to a fine or eight years imprisonment or both. A person convicted of an offence may also be ordered to cover the prosecution costs and expenses.

Section 17 sets out provisions relating to offences committed by bodies corporate and their directors, managers or officers. Section 18 states that proceedings under the Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Health Service Executive.

Section 19 sets out provisions relating to evidence brought before proceedings. It states that tobacco products or packaging bearing a name or trademark of an importer or manufacturer will be used as evidence that the products were manufactured, imported or packaged by that person unless the contrary is proved.

Part Four of the Bill deals with miscellaneous matters. Section 20 amends section 5A of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts. The legislation will now provide that if a person registered to sell tobacco under section 37 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts is found guilty of an offence under the current legislation, he or she can be removed from the register for a specified period. Section 21 amends section 37 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts. Section 37 will now take the current legislation and any offences committed under it into consideration when a person is applying for registration for the sale of tobacco products. Section 22 amends section 48 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts, as amended. Section 48 will now provide the Health Service Executive with the necessary powers to enforce the current legislation.

A number of issues were raised on Committee Stage in the Seanad which I have agreed to examine. One relates to the possibility of shortening the product wash-through period allowed for in section 6 of the Bill. The other issue relates to the possible inclusion of a health information sheet inside the packs of tobacco products. The officials are examining these issues from a policy and legal perspective to determine if they are appropriate.

I remind the House that for five decades the tobacco industry deliberately concealed facts about the dangers of smoking. Now it is using spurious arguments about illicit trade to terrify responsible retailers into opposing the legislation. Their arguments today remain as bogus and as dishonest as they have been for the past five decades. I ask Members of the House not to allow for any manipulation of the truth. As an old lady once said to me, the truth is not fragile and it will not break. The truth is that smoking kills. I commend the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014 to the House.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The next speakers are Deputies Colm Keaveney and John Browne who will share time.

Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Fianna Fáil supports the Bill in principle. We would do so because we published similar legislation in November 2012. That Bill would have prohibited the use of trade marks, logos, brands, business or company names and other identifying marks on packaging of tobacco products. Fianna Fáil's Bill would have provided for the regulation of the use of any design of packaging or any design of a tobacco product otherwise related to the appearance, size or shape of packaging or tobacco products; the opening and contents of packaging; and any information to be included or omitted on packaging. Manufacturers would only have been permitted to print the brand name in a required size, font and location on the package which would have been predominantly dark green. It would have contained health warnings, including provision for graphic imagery highlighting the damage done by smoking. It would also have been an offence to buy, sell, import or manufacture any tobacco product which did not comply with the aforementioned proposals. The provisions and objectives of the Bill before the House have much in common with our proposed legislation.

The Bill will control the design and appearance of tobacco products and will remove all forms of branding, including trademarks, logos, colours and graphics from packs, except for the brand and variant name which will be presented in a uniform typeface. The objective of the Bill is to make tobacco packs look less attractive to consumers, to make health warnings more prominent and to reduce the ability of the packs to mislead people, especially children about the harmful effects of smoking. It is not aimed so much at those already addicted to these harmful and lethal products but rather at preventing children from taking it up in the first place.

Like many here I have been subject to lobbying by various groups opposed to the Bill. Some of the arguments deployed include the view that the packaging of tobacco products make little or no difference to consumption levels of the drug. However, we know that the tobacco industry has cynically invested heavily in package design to communicate subliminally specific messages to various groups in society. The Bill will take away one of the industry's significant means of promoting tobacco as a desirable product. As the majority of smokers start when they are children, packaging elements are, by definition, directed mainly at young people.

International research has shown that plain packaging discourages young people from smoking in a number of ways. Young people find plain packaging less attractive. It is not as sexy and does not have the mojo. Plain packs are seen as less cool. Plain packs also prevent any confusion about lighter coloured packs being less harmful to smokers. We know from internal documents from the tobacco industry that this has been one of its most crass and cynical tactics to lessen the perception of the impact of health warnings on packages.

The Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation recently commissioned a quantitative study with 15 and 16 year olds. The study found that cigarette packaging viewed as appealing has the power to generate buzz and motivate purchase whereas packaging seen as unattractive or old fashioned is immediately rejected. It also found that teens felt that the positive brand attributes of appealing packs, such as fun, glamour, masculinity and femininity can transfer to those who smoke them. For teens, packaging is not just about the look and feel of the pack, it is about how the smoker looks. They feel better with the brand. Plain packaging was immediately rejected by teens who expressed concerns about the look and feel of the packaging and how they were perceived by their peers, which was completely at odds with the image teens would like to portray of themselves. Overall the research established that teen smokers claimed they would quit when plain packs were introduced and non-smokers and light smokers said they were unlikely to seek to start smoking or to continue to do so.

The measure will also have positive benefits for those already addicted to tobacco. In December 2012, Australia formally introduced plain brown packaging for all tobacco products, accompanied by graphic health warnings taking up three quarters of the front of the pack. So far, it is the only country in the world to have taken this step. Early findings from a study in Australia suggest that plain packaging seems to make tobacco less appealing and increases the urgency to quit smoking. Smokers were asked whether they were as satisfied with their cigarettes as they were before plain packaging was introduced, and whether they felt the quality was the same. They were also asked how often they thought about the harms of smoking and about quitting smoking, and if they approved of the plain packaging policy. They were also asked if they thought the harms of smoking had been exaggerated.

The result indicated that smokers of plain packs were 51% more likely to look at immediately addressing their smoking addiction as a consequence of the initiative. Compared with smokers still using brand packs, the plain pack smokers were 66% more likely to think their cigarettes were of poorer quality than the previous year. They were 70% more likely to say they found them less satisfying. They were also 81% more likely to have thought about quitting at least once a day during the previous week and to rate quitting as a higher priority in their lives than they did when smoking brand packs.

The authors of the study concluded: "The finding that smokers smoking from a plain pack evidenced more frequent thought about, and priority for quitting, than branded pack smokers is important, since frequency of thoughts about quitting has strong predictive validity in prospective studies for actually making a quit attempt." They also stated: "Overall, the introductory effects we observed are consistent with the broad objectives of the plain packaging legislation."

I am sure the Minister will agree that Fianna Fáil has a proud track record on combatting the harm done by tobacco products and in facing down the powerful lobby acting on behalf of the tobacco industry. On 30 March we marked the tenth anniversary of the smoking ban in public places. In January 2003, as Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin launched a report on the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace and gave notice of his intention to bring forward a ban. The advice contained in the report on the dangers of passive smoking was unambiguous. Ventilation technologies were insufficient to give workers full protection from the hazards of tobacco smoke and that exposure could best be minimised by a full ban.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer had also declared that environmental tobacco smoke included more than 50 known carcinogens. The bottom line is that one did not have to be a smoker to get cancer - one could get it from the smoker beside one.

Another priority was for the wellbeing of children. As they grow the exposure to environmental smoke reduces lung capacity and exercise tolerance. It lowers birth weight and has been identified as a significant contributor to asthma.

The ban, which was supported by all political parties, was brought forward as a positive, progressive health and safety measure that would bestow positive benefits to workers and the general public. Has the smoking ban saved lives and improved health? Last year a new study showed that more than 3,700 deaths have been prevented in Ireland because people are less exposed to second-hand smoke. The study showed that mortality decreases were primarily due to reductions in passive smoking, rather than a reduction in active smoking. The findings in the scientific paper were published in the medical journal PLOS ONEand follow research by Brunel University in London, the Environmental Health Sciences Institute, the Dublin Institute of Technology and the TobaccoFree Research Institute.

The study showed a 26% reduction in heart disease, a 32% fall in strokes and a 38% drop in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality. This was the first study to demonstrate that a reduction in stroke and respiratory illness was as a direct result of that initiative.

Earlier this year the British medical publication, The Lancet, published a review of 11 international studies which showed that smoking bans, including ours, have resulted in sharp falls in the numbers of children being admitted to hospital with asthma attacks and the number of babies born before full term. The number of children born before full term who are smaller than they should be given the stage at which they are born has declined by 5%.

Other research in 2012 has shown a significant 12% reduction in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome just one year following the introduction of our smoking ban and again two years later a further 13% drop in acute coronary syndrome admissions was recorded. In Ireland, the percentage of smokers who banned smoking in the home rose by a considerable 25%, compared with 17% in France, 38% in Germany and 28% in the Netherlands. These are significant achievements and we look forward to playing our part in assisting this legislation's enactment.

However, the smoking ban was not the only measure we put in place to combat tobacco addiction. We were the first country in the EU to eliminate all tobacco advertising from retail outlets. All tobacco products in shops are now stored out of sight. We banned self-service vending machines except in licensed premises and registered clubs. Research has found that these measures resulted in a massive fall in young people's awareness of and accessibility to the drug, cigarette. Plain packaging is the next logical step in progressively combatting tobacco addiction.

However, despite the progressive approach of all parties in this House we cannot become complacent. The fact is that smoking remains the largest cause of preventable death and disease in this country. It kills half of all lifetime users. Some 5,200 people in Ireland die from smoking-related illness every year. That means that today 14 people have died or will die from cigarettes. We have to do more about this and while we do not question the Minister's sincerity in this regard, we are not persuaded that the Government as a whole is really committed to the fight.

Let us consider that last October's budget announced €666 million in cuts for our health services and imposed a derisory increase of 10 cent on a packet of 20 cigarettes. On top of this, last year the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, hosted a meeting of the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee. We need to remember this is an industry that costs this country €1 billion in health-care costs. To hold such a meeting essentially endorsing big tobacco and all the damage it does to the young people of the country was reckless. Obviously, the companies were ecstatic about the meeting. The Irish Tobacco Manufacturers' Advisory Committee described it as a very positive meeting with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter.

The tobacco industry is not a normal industry and cannot be allowed a place up in the ministerial corridor. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, should consider broadening the scope of the Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014 to include a provision banning any lobbying by the tobacco industry of public representatives or officials. Prior to that, Ministers should lead by example and refuse to meet any representatives of the tobacco industry, an industry that is destructive to our society, our public services and to the delivery of our health service.

If asked why we are supporting this legislation I would respond that in Ireland, children start smoking at a younger age than in any other European Union country at approximately 16 years old. Some 87% of smokers started to smoke before the age of 18. Some 5,200 people die from smoking every year in Ireland - that is equivalent to the population of Tuam town being wiped out annually. In order to maintain current smoking levels, the tobacco industry has to attract 50 new smokers a day to replace those who have died. Given that most smokers start smoking before they are 18, it really needs to start recruiting children. So this is a critical initiative.

Our only concern about the Bill is that it has not secured EU approval for all its contents and that it is open to challenge in the courts which could result in the State being liable for damages. We hope the Bill is not being rushed purely for personal reasons as part of the Minister's enthusiasm to tackle this crisis.

It is essential that the legislation be watertight and any effort by the Minister to ensure that will be achieved will be fully supported from this side of the House.

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the Bill. As Deputy Keaveney has said, Fianna Fáil supports the Bill in principle. We published our own Bill in 2012. We are all aware that tobacco companies invest huge sums of money in advertising and marketing their products in order to recruit new customers, who are nearly always children and young people. This is why legislation to introduce plain or standardised packaging is urgently required. Plain or standardised packaging will limit the tobacco industry's ability to attract young people by using marketing techniques that are essentially misleading. Australia has already introduced legislation to this effect which has proved to be very successful.

Enacting the Bill will mean that Ireland will be one of the leaders in implementing Articles 11 and 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the global tobacco-control treaty that commits more than 170 parties to reduce demand and supply of tobacco products.

As the previous Deputy noted, the only concern is that European Union approval has not yet been secured. In his reply, the Minister might outline how this will affect the legislation in Ireland and whether it will have implications whereby tobacco companies or other individuals will be able to claim damages against the State. I ask the Minister to clarify this issue.

I speak as someone who gave up smoking in 1984 following a bowel operation and on the instructions of the surgeon who carried out the procedure, the late Johnny O'Sullivan. He instructed me not to come back near him if I continued to smoke, as I would be wasting both his time and mine, and I took his advice. It always is difficult to give up smoking and some people believe Members are introducing nanny state-type legislation with regard to this and other issues that come before them from time to time, such as the sugar tax, the fat tax and tax on drink, beer and so on. However, I believe Members have come to recognise the importance of what Deputy Martin did in banning smoking in the workplace. It also is important to continue on with such legislation and I note that in the Minister's area of responsibility and particularly in the Health Service Executive, smoking has been banned in hospitals and other areas under the executive's control over the past year. I believe a few areas must be dealt with. At present, illegal cigarettes are being sold nationwide and operators in every town in Ireland are selling illegal cigarettes at enormous cost to the country's economy and they are out of control in many ways. In addition, a new type of cigarette has arrived in the form of e-cigarettes. While smoke comes out of them, I do not know what will be the implications for the customers in the years and months ahead. Certainly, I have noticed that such cigarettes now are being consumed by people in bookmaker's offices, pubs and other areas. While I do not know what damage they will do to people, there certainly should be an investigation into their operation, particularly with regard to children and other people. I am sure the Minister will deal with this issue in the future.

The Bill will control the design and appearance of tobacco products. It will remove all forms of branding, including trademarks, logos, colours and graphics from packages, except for the brand and variant name, which will be presented in a uniform typeface across all packets. As the Minister has noted, the Bill's objective is to make tobacco packs look less attractive to consumers, to make health warnings more prominent and to reduce the ability of the packs to mislead people, especially children, about the harmful effects of smoking. As all Members are aware, the tobacco industry has invested heavily in pack design to communicate specific messages to specific groups. This Bill will take away one of the industry's means of promoting tobacco as a desirable product. As the majority of smokers start as children, packaging elements are by definition directed mainly at young people. Packaging differentiates brands and is particularly important in homogenous consumer goods categories such as cigarettes. Marketing literature highlights the critical role played by pack design in the marketing mix. Cigarette packaging conveys brand identity through brand logos, collars, fonts, pictures, packaging materials and pack shapes. The world's most popular cigarette brand, Marlboro, can be identified readily through its iconic red chevron. The Marlboro brand is estimated to be worth $21 billion and is estimated to be the tenth most valuable product brand in the world. Obviously, the branding of cigarettes and brand names are extremely important to tobacco companies.

In Ireland, children start smoking at a younger age than any other European country, at 16 years of age. Moreover, 78% of smokers started to smoke before the age of 18. Each year in Ireland, 5,500 people die from smoking, which is the equivalent of my home town of Enniscorthy being wiped out annually. In order to maintain current smoking levels, the tobacco industry must, as the previous speaker noted, attract 50 new smokers per day to replace those who either have died or quit. Given that most smokers start to smoke before they are 18, most of these new recruits are children. I reiterate that in Ireland, tobacco companies need 50 people per day to take up smoking and that is the idea behind the branding, the packaging and their advertising. Standardised packaging will stop smokers from believing that some cigarettes are less harmful than others. Light colours and pack designs are used to give a false impression that some cigarette brands are healthier than others. Standardised packaging would make health warnings more effective. Research has shown that more smokers will seek to quit with standardised packs. Standardised packaging will reduce the appeal of tobacco products to younger people and, as I stated previously, younger people are very much the primary target for tobacco industry marketing. At present, cigarette companies use design-heavy packaging. The colours, imagery and design are used to attract smokers and reduce the impact of on-pack health warnings. In 2010, the trade magazine Tobacco Reporterran a series of articles on the importance of packaging to the industry's business and stated:

In many countries, the cigarette pack is now the only remaining avenue of communication with smokers. This development is challenging packaging suppliers to be creative.

I received a letter today from the Irish Cigarette Machine Operators Association, ICMOA, which represents the people who supply vending machines with cigarettes nationwide. The association supports much of the Minister's legislation in respect of the packaging and similar areas. At present, 145 people are employed in this industry in Ireland. The association is concerned about some of the proposals the Minister has been talking about introducing into the legislation. For example, the association is concerned that the Minister might propose an increase in the tobacco retail licence fee from a once-off fee of €50 to a potential fee of €1,000 per outlet per year. There are approximately 6,000 such outlets in Ireland. The association also is concerned about the proposal to restrict trading hours and how not being allowed to sell tobacco products after 6 p.m. also would have a detrimental effect on their businesses. They make the point that criminals are selling illegal tobacco from door to door, at street markets and on the streets. This legislation will not stop this and they seek some control of this issue. In summary, the people operating the vending machines have some concerns and perhaps the Minister would meet the aforementioned organisation and have discussions with it.

As the organisation in question states in correspondence I and, I am sure, other Deputies received, while it accepts the general principle of the Bill, it has concerns that some aspects of it will have a serious impact on their business. The companies in question are primarily family businesses employing one or two people. I ask the Minister to consider this matter. He must also explain how he will overcome the barriers presented by European legislation.

The Fianna Fáil Party supports and welcomes this Bill. My party, specifically its current leader, Deputy Martin, introduced the first ban on smoking in the workplace, which has been extended by the Health Service Executive to hospitals and other health facilities. It is correct to take another step and introduce a ban on the packaging that appears to attract many young people to smoking. For this reason, my party will support the Bill.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Is Deputy Ó Caoláin sharing time?

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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As I will not need the 30 minutes allocated to me, I will share time with Deputy John McGuinness provided I am in a position to conclude before 7.30 p.m. The Deputy wishes to make a statement at the end of my contribution.

This Bill is another element in the legislative framework designed to combat tobacco smoking. It gives us the opportunity to focus again on the serious damage tobacco smoking does to the health of people and the significant cost to society of tobacco smoking. It provides us with an opportunity also to address the ongoing campaign to reduce and, I hope, eventually eliminate this practice, thus creating a smoke-free society. While there will always be a remnant of smoking among a small minority, for maximum effect the aim must be to achieve a smoke-free society in Ireland.

Much progress has been made. Measures undertaken by successive Governments and the campaigning work of the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Heart Foundation, ASH Ireland and others have helped reduce the numbers who smoke and unquestionably improved public health generally. A combination of awareness through public education and pricing measures has ensured a reduction in the numbers who smoke. It is, however, still a startling statistic that just under 25% of the population use tobacco. Furthermore, the numbers of young people starting smoking and becoming addicted at an early age has yet to be continually addressed.

It is estimated that smoking causes well in excess of 5,000 deaths each year, mainly as a result of conditions such as lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema. Nearly one third of cancer deaths and 90% of lung cancers in Ireland are attributed to smoking. The cost to society in human and financial terms is significant. According to one estimate, the cost to the State in health service provision in a single year is €1 billion, approximately one third of which is incurred through hospital admissions.

It is estimated that if smoking continues to expand globally at its current rate, it will be the single largest cause of death worldwide before the middle of this century. This is because the tobacco industry's great area of expansion is in developing countries which have not yet put in place the preventative measures that have been provided for in developed countries such as Ireland. The tobacco industry is an industry of death, which is exploiting the most disadvantaged people on the planet. Despite this, there are still people who lobby on its behalf, including in this country, happy to benefit from the enormous profits reaped by these multinational companies.

It has been correctly noted that if the tobacco drug had been first developed in our own time, it would never be authorised to be sold and would be banned outright. That is not argument for a ban on smoking, as prohibition would be unworkable and would merely drive the habit underground, thus benefiting organised crime. The point underlines, however, the lethal nature of this drug.

In terms of legislation, the ban on smoking in enclosed work-places has been a major success. As well as improving the health of workers and those visiting workplace premises, the knock-on effect of making smoking less socially acceptable has been profound. It is now common for people who smoke, especially those with children, to do so only outside their homes.

The Bill provides for plain, standard packaging for products and, as such, it is a welcome addition to the legislative framework. While it will not, of itself, lead to a dramatic reduction in consumption, it must be seen as another element in the compendium of measures aimed at reducing smoking. The tobacco industry spends enormous sums on product design and presentation and is vehemently opposed to this legislation. This is reason enough to support its passage.

I will digress briefly by drawing to the Minister's attention the argument that there is a distinction between cigarette smoking and its continuing and, sadly, wide appeal, especially to vulnerable young people and pipe and cigar tobacco use, which is confined to an older and ever declining minority. The British Department of Health's proposed guidelines for the introduction of plain packaging were published last week. Pipe tobacco and cigars are excluded from the intended measures. If this approach is realised, we will have another case of cross-Border divergence rather than convergence. Will the Minister give further consideration to the impact of section 10? I am particularly keen to protect the legendary Kapp & Petersen business and its internationally known premises in the city of Dublin. That this is a landmark business is beyond question, despite having moved a short distance from its former location. No one I know and certainly no young person is being attracted to pipe smoking. I ask that the Minister address this issue in his closing contribution. The issue merits address and an answer must be recorded on the floor of the House. I will hand over to Deputy John McGuinness.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I extend my apologies to Deputy Ó Caoláin as I mistakenly assumed he was speaking on Private Members' business. I propose to clarify the record from last night when I spoke on the Private Members' motion. The Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, indicated I made an incorrect statement. I subsequently read the record, which shows that I was correct. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, stated that a whole new structure had been put in place and the new clinical director was Dr. Noel Sheppard and he had replaced Dr. Frank Kelly. The Minister for Health was, therefore, wrong to state this did not happen. It did happen and that is what was said. I am correcting the record.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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It should be noted that the Deputy has made a point of clarification as he may not speak twice on Second Stage of a Bill.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I admire the efforts of the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, to address smoking. His intentions are good and I fully support measures to inform smokers of the damaging health effects of smoking. However, I propose to ask a question that many people are asking. What does the Government hope to achieve with this legislation? For instance, the Bill is not backed up by evidence of likely results. The only international comparison available is Australia, which became the first country to ban branded cigarette packs in December 2012.

Deliveries of tobacco to retailers in Australia actually rose last year for the first time in at least five years. There is no quantitative evidence whatsoever that plain packaging has made any impact on the prevalence of smoking among minors in Australia. What can be quantified, however, is the notable increase in illicit trade and smuggling in cigarettes in that country.

My view is that plain packaging on cigarettes will make them more glamorous to young people since it will generate an air of secrecy and create a form of taboo.