Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I feel very strongly about this issue. As in many other countries, smoking in Ireland is a serious public health issue and one that quite often does not attract the attention it deserves. Among the general public it certainly does not receive the respect it should, given the dangers it causes. In addition, the cost to the taxpayer arising from the implications of ill-health from smoking is particularly serious, especially when we are in a troika programme.

Having said that, I must commend the former Minister for Health, Deputy Micheál Martin, for introducing the smoking ban in public places, which was a brave move. We were the first in Europe to do so and at this stage our example has been followed by most other European countries. The ban sent out a positive message but we have taken our eye off the ball on this issue somewhat since then. My family runs a shop in County Clare where, unfortunately, we sell quite an amount of cigarettes. Speaking to other retailers in recent times, however, we have noticed that cigarette companies are now pushing out the boundaries concerning what they can or cannot do. We have seen the recent introduction of packs of 23 cigarettes. Smokers now face a choice of packs of 20 or 23. We banned packs of ten in order to reduce the incentive for young people to buy them, but we are now back to having a choice of two packs. We should either ban the 20 pack or the 23 pack, but only one pack should be on sale. Next we will see a pack of 30 cigarettes which will work out cheaper per cigarette than a 23 pack. We could even see the introduction of packs of 50, which would work out cheaper still. The economics of scale are built into the number of cigarettes purchased.

Coupled with that, we have also observed in-store incentives being peddled by cigarette companies. These are to incentivise staff to push cigarettes on the public. Under one scheme currently being operated in shops around the country, staff members who increase sales of a particular brand of cigarettes will receive a ¤50 shopping voucher. There is an incentive to partake in such a promotion coming up to Christmas when times are difficult in an expensive period.

In addition, glossy and colourful price lists are being produced on the basis that retailers are legally obliged to advertise the price of their products. They are therefore taking advantage of that loophole to peddle their brands.

I abhor smoking which I believe is one of the greatest curses in the modern world. We have a responsibility to do what we can to curb it. This is a time-sensitive subject because the budget is being announced next week. That would be an opportune time to deal with this issue by regulating new methods of in-store promotion of cigarettes.

Retailers are permitted to buy tins of cigars yet they can be sold individually. Thus, people in a difficult economic situation who come from an unprivileged socioeconomic background could, unfortunately, be incentivised to buy single cigars. Tobacco products should be sold as part of a package.

Another element that has crept in recently is the peddling of roll-your-own cigarettes. We will always be fighting this battle against smugglers who are selling tobacco on Henry Street for ¤5 a pack. We may not have a large amount of control over that but we certainly can control how tobacco products are sold in shops, including the price and packaging.

It is a win-win situation to tackle this problem and the vast majority of the public will be on our side. Statistics show that 18% of the population smoke, while 15% want to quit smoking. Therefore, we will probably have 90% support for any initiatives we take to deal with this matter.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I would like to thank Senator Conway for raising this important issue and for the opportunity to discuss the steps that we at the Department of Health are taking in moving the country towards a tobacco-free society.

It is important to take a moment to consider the immense damage that smoking causes to the health of people in this country. It is well documented that smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in Ireland, killing over 5,200 people each year. Half of all long-term smokers will die from smoking-related diseases.

So what are we doing to alleviate the societal and economic burden placed on us by smoking? What can we do to discourage people from smoking? Since his appointment as Minister for Health, my colleague, Deputy James Reilly, has been very public about his commitment to tackle the problem of smoking in Ireland. The tobacco policy review is nearing completion in the Department of Health and will make recommendations aimed at further reducing smoking.

No one measure alone can reduce the number of smokers or the number of our children who start to smoke. We need a combination of measures which includes, effective legislation, supports for smokers who are trying to quit, and effective media and education campaigns. All these measures have the effect of denormalising tobacco use in our society which, in my view, is the most effective way to prevent future generations from continuing the habit.

In consultation with the HSE, the Department of Health is continuously monitoring the ever-evolving marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, which were referred to by Senator Conway. As these evolve, so too must our legislative and policy framework by way of response.

A comprehensive range tobacco control legislation is in place in Ireland which places us in the top rank of countries internationally. Some of these significant initiatives include: successful implementation of the smoke-free initiative in 2004; a ban on the sale of packs of cigarettes of fewer than 20, in 2007; ground-breaking legislation in 2009 that introduced the ban on in-store display and advertising; and the introduction of the retail register.

Last December, the Minister for Health signed regulations which will place an obligation on tobacco manufacturers to include photographs on cigarette and tobacco packs. These images depict the negative health impacts associated with smoking. These packs will appear in our shops from 1 February 2013.

This particular measure, together with the 2009 retail measures, will have a positive impact on reducing the numbers of young people starting to smoke. It is heartening to see that in a recent survey the number of children smoking fell from 18% to 12% from 2002 to 2010.

The introduction of many of the legislative measures I have mentioned was facilitated by developments at European Union level. It is important that our tobacco policy and legislation framework continues to develop within the context of the European Commission. To this end, I hope to be in a position to progress the revised EU tobacco products directive during the course of the Irish EU Presidency in the first half of next year.

I am confident that the outcome of the revision of the directive, together with the implementation of the future recommendations of the report of the tobacco policy review group, will go a significant way to moving us towards a tobacco-free society.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Having said that, however, I believe that further regulation is necessary in the immediate term. Such regulation should cover: the sale of single-item tobacco products; the availability of packs of 20 and 23 cigarettes - there should be only one pack; banning cigarette companies from offering financial incentives to retail staff to promote cigarettes - we need to move away from that; and closing the loophole whereby they can provide colourful, eye-catching price lists. Further regulation by the Minister is required on those four important matters. It needs to be done in the interests of public health.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Each of the four items the Senator has raised seems to have merit. I will ensure that the Senator's views are communicated to the Minister for Health. I have heard what he has had to say about these individual items and we will do everything we can to see if we can incorporate them in our response.