Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for introducing this Bill, which we support. As the Minister pointed out, some 5,200 people die as a result of tobacco products every year and this is equivalent to the population of Tipperary town. Some 22% of the Irish population is hooked on the drug and it costs taxpayers €500 million per year to deal with the health problems tobacco causes. The main question to ask is whether this Bill will work. Will plain packaging have the desired effect of helping move us towards a tobacco-free society? Australia is the country that implemented this measure most recently and tobacco consumption there has fallen by a third. In total, Australians have spent $1 billion less on tobacco since the introduction of plain packaging. Some 81% of smokers there said plain packaging would make them consider quitting and, as the Minister said, this means they are considering it more often than those using branded products.

We must examine what the tobacco companies are doing as they perceive this measure to be a threat to their profits. Profit is their only motive. As the Minister pointed out, they are instigating a huge campaign around the world to rubbish the idea that plain packaging will have any effect in reducing tobacco consumption. Numerous red herrings have been used, including a supposed potential increase in smuggling and consequent loss to the taxpayer. They allege that plain packaging will make the activities of smugglers easier. However, as the Minister and Ms Shanta Dube have pointed out, the tobacco companies have lied for 50 years so why would they stop now? They will not stop lying but they will not stop lobbying either and this may be more worrying as we are used to lies but not so much to lobbying. In the US, prior to the hearings on Capitol Hill, the chief executive of Brown and Williamson, Thomas Sandefur, made the famous statement that he did not believe nicotine to be addictive. In fact, the people in question had evidence nicotine was addictive. The more nicotine in cigarettes the more addictive they are. It is hard to believe the chairman of Philip Morris, Geoffrey Bible, said he was unclear in his own mind whether anyone dies of cigarette smoking related diseases when his own company's research showed it caused the death of millions of Americans. This suggests that whatever lobbying and research is carried out by tobacco companies they will continue to perpetuate lies. Any lobbying by tobacco companies and their public relations firms should be taken with a grain of salt.

The ban on smoking in the workplace has had a very positive effect on people's health, especially those employed in the service industry in bars, restaurants and so on. It is hard to imagine someone lighting a cigarette on an aeroplane or entering a public building clouded in a haze of smoke. This is all thanks to the Government and the health industry slowly pushing back against the tobacco industry. I support this Bill. It may require technical amendments but it is welcome. It will be attacked by the extremely wealthy tobacco industry but we must fight for the greater good. We must think of the 5,200 people that die as a result of tobacco products every year. More important, children targeted by the tobacco industry take up smoking in Ireland at a younger age than in any other European country. We are fighting for the health and well-being of the children of this State and it is a cause worth fighting for.