Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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729. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department has carried out any study of the legal class actions taken by American citizens and Government agencies against major cigarette companies in recent decades [12174/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Officials in my Department are aware of the legal actions taken in the United States against the tobacco industry but have not commissioned or carried out any studies in this regard.

Tobacco consumption is today the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in Ireland, killing over 5,200 people a year. Smokers die on average 10 years sooner than non-smokers; and one in every two of smokers will die from a tobacco related disease. I am of the view that the measures we are putting in place to implement our tobacco policy, Tobacco Free Irelandwill contribute to reducing the overall prevalence of smoking in Ireland to less than 5% and help meet our target of a tobacco free Ireland by 2025.