John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Comhghairdeas leis an Aire. This is a very important initiative which will have a real and measurable effect by making people stop and think about why they continue to smoke. Every time a major anti-tobacco initiative occurs, it makes people stop and think. People who might have wondered if they should consider giving it up again take up the cudgel of attempting to cease this terrible habit. It will have a huge educational effect. Every opportunity we have to get that message home must be taken.

I am disappointed that a previous attempt to limit the ability of tobacco companies to access Government via public relations, PR, companies in this Chamber was unsuccessful but I wish to make a public appeal to every single person who runs a PR company, many of whom are former politicians - it is the nature of that business - or sets up a business because they have connections with politicians or works in such companies. Some of them are smokers, and some are not, but every single person in a PR company knows or is related to someone who has been killed by smoking. It is that simple. Failing our ability to legislate for this, I ask them to take this opportunity to enter into some kind of a voluntary concordat for ethical public relations and to sign up to an undertaking that they will have nothing whatsoever to do with advertising, lobbying or doing PR work on behalf of this incredibly evil industry that we as a society need to see go out of business.