Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Róisín Shortall. The Bill is broadly welcomed. It is another step on the way to help discourage people from smoking, particularly young people. The proposed text and images will be very effective in targeting the young age group to which so many speakers have referred. Senator Moran indicated that a picture paints a thousand words. I have been reading research from the Library and Research Service. Reference is made to it in the Minister's speech also. There is much research internationally from the World Health Organisation and across the EU of the benefit of images on cigarette packaging. Senator Moran mentioned speaking to her teenagers at home and how graphic images make a bigger impact. We all instinctively know it is the right way to go, particularly when targeting young people.

The legislation is another step towards reducing the consumption of tobacco. Initially text warnings were placed on cigarette packets. The national smoking ban has been very effective. I class myself as a non-smoker although in my student days I was a social smoker. The ban on smoking in the workplace has been a lifesaver. It has improved the environment and is a most welcome move. In July 2009, new rules were put in place to control tobacco products at the point of sale. In effect, tobacco products are to be hidden and individual purchasers must ask specifically for such products which are no longer allowed to be prominently displayed. In the case of vending machines in pubs, one must ask for a token rather than use cash. That has been another effective step in reducing the incidence of smoking as it introduces another barrier which people have to cross. In spite of that, we still have 1 million people, 29% of the population, who smoke.

The Office of Tobacco Control, to which Senator MacSharry referred, has been effective in advising the Department of Health in the area. Its research into the effectiveness of legislation and regulation has been helpful. It was able to track the effectiveness of the introduction of the control of tobacco products at the point of sale. A total of 50% of retailers asked young people for ID and they refused to sell them tobacco products if they could not provide it. More care was taken by retailers because they had to think about accessing tobacco products. The measure has been effective. The worth of the Office of Tobacco Control has been noted. I wish to associate myself with those comments. The office has been extremely beneficial and effective in developing policy and in informing the development of legislation to the current position.

The Minister referred to the cost of health care as being €2.3 billion. That is a lot of money. I made a calculation of the cost to a smoker for someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day. A packet of cigarettes costs €8.65. As the money comes out of the purchaser's pocket it does not matter to him or her whether the money goes to the Government or to cigarette companies. The cost amounts to €3,157 per annum.