Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Senator Henry mentioned the directive adopted by the Council of Ministers late last year. I had the honour of representing Ireland at the meeting where the directive was adopted. As the Senator pointed out, it does not apply to indirect advertising, it only contains a ban on direct advertising. In my discussions with Ministers from other member states, I discovered that Ireland was far ahead in the progress it has made on restricting advertising of tobacco products. There was considerable resistance from the Federal German Republic to the adoption of any directive and the British Government also refused to support the directive. The qualified majority voting procedures had to be invoked to carry the directive through at the meeting. The Irish vote was decisive, given that Ireland was the final country called to speak before the objecting states.

Our reservations on the directive related to the matter raised by Senator Henry about whether it would restrict our competence to deal with this by proscribing an EU minimum that would somehow become a maximum. I stated the Government's position that Ireland wants to retain national power in this matter so that we could take further measures, such as those being discussed here, to deal with this problem.

While I welcome the motion tabled by Senators Ryan and O'Meara, I am not sure that there is a great difference in the substance between it and that tabled by the Government. The Government was anxious that its position be set out with clarity. Our motion clearly reflects the Government's position. When Senators hear me outline this position, they will understand the precise reasons for the wording of the Government motion.

The adverse impact of tobacco consumption has been canvassed in this debate. I repeat the core issue: tobacco smoke can kill and cause illness – including lung cancer and other forms of cancer, heart disease, strokes, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory diseases – in many ways. Over 7,000 deaths in Ireland each year are attributable to tobacco-related illness. Smoking tobacco products is a singularly unhealthy act. Inhalation of second-hand tobacco smoke by non-smokers, commonly referred to as passive smoking, also poses a substantial health risk. There is an international scientific consensus that second-hand smoke can kill and cause disease. One does not have to be a smoker to acquire cancer caused by cigarette smoker.

This addresses an issue raised by Senator Ryan. He said that while, as a libertarian, he could not instinctively agree with prohibitions on tobacco, that we must have it. This is not a libertarian issue. If one's conduct harms others, legislators are entitled to restrict such conduct. The issue of passive smoking is important in this debate. We are not simply restricting the liberty of the individual; we are restricting the liberty of the individual in order to protect others. Classical liberal theorists from John Stewart Mill onward have always realised that society is entitled to restrict liberty to protect others.