Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share my time with Senator Ó Domhnaill.
I welcome the Minister. I wish to endorse everything that has been said. This Bill is probably as significant, in terms of the impact it will have on the general health of the population, as that of the former Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, which introduced the smoking ban and hopefully that legacy will remain for all time and the Minister will be remembered for it.
Much comment has been made on the Australian experience. I agree the three-year period seems long and will support amendments to reduce it. In the context of the significance of packaging, a study in France which monitored the eye movements of people when shown a plain pack of cigarettes and a branded pack showed that people spent longer looking at the health warnings on plain packs. In Canada, research has shown that people remember health warnings better from plain packs than from branded packs. Plain packaging eliminates the last great marketing tool for the tobacco industry, which is why the industry is fighting a rearguard action as has been pointed out by Senator Crown and others.
The Minister has commented on what standardised packaging will do in the context of the impact on smokers. Currently, cigarette companies use design-heavy packaging and colours, imagery and design are used to attract smokers and reduce the impact of on-pack health warnings. In 2010, a trade magazine tobacco reporter ran a series of articles on the importance of packaging to the industry's business. This 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.

The extensive legal challenges to standardised packaging in Australia show how effective the tobacco industry expected standardised packaging to be at reducing the take-up of smoking among young people.
Due to the short time available for my contribution, I just wish to endorse everything that has been said. I will conclude with an anecdote in the context of people's perception on smoking. The late Nat King Cole, who died of lung cancer, smoked what he believed to be a product that helped to give timbre to his voice, so he smoked menthol cigarettes. That was then, but some people still believe that different cigarettes may be less harmful. This legislation will ensure we now have a level playing field. The tobacco industry must now shape up or ship out. I agree with Senator Crown that this is a war we must win.
I agree with the comments made by Senator Burke in regard to cigarette holders. This is something the legislation should examine. If the tobacco industry, it is not only ingenious and vile, but a creative industry and it will fight tooth and nail to ensure it keeps its share of the market. Therefore, anything that in any way helps that cause should be stopped in its tracks.