Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister’s central point is about the number of deaths caused by tobacco. We all have family members who died from smoking and it is a matter of great regret to every one of us personally.

It struck me when the Minister was speaking that, as an effort to promote road safety, we used to have road signs stating the number of fatalities caused by traffic accidents in every county. Putting up a poster on a billboard stating the number of people who died from smoking over the past decade should be part of our campaign. While the Minister’s efforts are an excellent step in the right direction, we need to bolster it. Senator Conway is correct that this is a war with the tobacco companies which are well-resourced. They have no morality in what they are doing, particularly when one sees how they target poor countries where they spend millions of euro on advertising and marketing to get people there addicted to cigarettes.