Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I certainly do not plan to delay a Bill which has all-party agreement.

While the Office of Tobacco Control did not figure too much in the Minister of State's speech, it is worth noting the good work it did from when it was first established. We must commend the many health professionals and various others who served the office, advising Ministers and the Department of Health on tobacco-control measures. In 2002, I recall the Seanad ante-room used to be filled with plumes of smoke as Members used to take their leave to have a cigarette or pipe. In nine years, it is great to see the transformation the smoking ban has made. It is still a concern that 29% of the population smokes and that younger females, in particular, are still being attracted to the vice of smoking. Much progress, however, has been made by some of the tobacco-control measures introduced.

In 2004, section 47 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 came into force to protect third parties, such as workers, from the ill-effects of exposure to second-hand smoke. Legislation was introduced to remove point-of-sale advertising, display of tobacco products at retail outlets and licensed premises in July 2009. The national register of tobacco retailers for persons selling tobacco products came into effect on that date too. Test purchase inspections conducted by environmental health officers resulted in almost 20 prosecutions for sales to minors, which seems quite low but shows the progress made on the issue. From May 2007, it became illegal to sell cigarettes in packs of less than 20. Up to 95% of workplaces inspected as part of the national tobacco control inspection programme were found to be compliant with section 47 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts. In November 2005, Ireland became the 101st country to ratify the WHO framework convention on tobacco control.

These are some of the more notable progresses made in the past several years in the bid to rid society of tobacco use. As a former smoker myself, I know graphic images are found to be the most powerful in deterring people from smoking. I gave them up five and half years ago through a combination of Allen Carr and the impact of family members being diagnosed with lung cancer. For each person it is a different approach, so we need to support the various approaches. If graphic images are to be part of the arsenal of the attack, then bring them on. The Minister is to be commended for this approach.

There could be strange allies in the war on tobacco. Outside football matches and markets one sees smuggled cigarettes being sold below cost. The State is losing out from a tax perspective in this regard. Our ultimate goal is to put these people out of business. I refer here to legitimate tobacco manufacturers.

Perhaps there is a need for us to work with the latter, in the first instance, in order that we might close off the routes which facilitate the illegal importation of cheaper tobacco. The companies to which I refer have collected large volumes of data which could prove useful. Given that they have a vested interest in this matter, however, there may be a need to obtain an independent assessment in respect of the advice they are offering. These companies are active in the context of lobbying and there may be something to what they have to say. I ask that the Department engage with them regarding our ultimate goal, namely, ridding society of tobacco. I do not know how easy it will be to achieve that goal in the short term. However, we must use all the resources at our disposal and, in that context, there is a need to engage to a greater degree with tobacco manufacturing companies such as Philip Morris and others.

I accept it does not relate to the Bill before the House but smoking remains glamorised to a great extent. Magazines such as Hello, OK! and others which people, both young and old, read and contain information and photographs relating to film stars, footballers and the wives and partners of celebrities. Quite often such individuals are photographed while smoking. Cigarettes are also featured in fashion shots taken for these and other publications.

Movies and television programmes also contain scenes in which people smoke. While such scenes may well depict manifestations of real life, their use must be discouraged. Surely it must be possible to depict such scenes in an equally entertaining way in the absence of cigarettes or whatever. If a scene is a factual reconstruction of something that happened in the past, I am sure it would be possible to remove the use of tobacco products from it. Movies, television programmes, magazine articles, etc., tend to glamorise smoking. When one is a particular age, one has a tendency to feel somewhat bullet proof. If there are small actions we can take to deter people from using tobacco products in the way I have outlined, then we should by all means take them.

The fact that young girls are particularly susceptible to taking up smoking - to an even greater degree than was the case in the past - is a matter of concern. Perhaps cigarettes are seen as some form of fashion accessory. If the latter is the case, then what I said in respect of the glamorisation of tobacco products in movies, television programmes, magazine articles, etc., is being borne out. If a particular film star, model or whomever is seen to be a user of tobacco, then that makes it acceptable for some young people.

There is very little else one can say in respect of this Bill, which is good and which should not be opposed. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I commend it to the House. There are a number of health-related issues I wished to raise but I did not have the opportunity to refer to them in the context of the Bill. I understand, however, that the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, will be attending the House tomorrow to debate the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill. The latter is a little more general in nature and might allow me to get stuck in to the Minister in a legitimate way. I did not want to get stuck in to the Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, in respect of such matters in the context of the Bill before the House.