The Government may examine taxation measures in the Budget to help curtail the supply of a vodka-in-a-sachet product, the Minister for Health has said.
Mr Martin's comments came as opposition to the Original Bullseye Baggies mounted yesterday. The main vintners, off-licence and hotel groups oppose the product. They will meet the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, next week to discuss what action could be taken to frustrate the introduction of sachets.
Mr McDowell said yesterday he would prefer a voluntary approach to dealing with problems posed by the new product, but if this did not work he would legislate. He said a new Intoxicating Liquor Bill was coming up, and a ban could be considered in this context.
He added that the vodka product had serious implications for existing measures to keep alcohol out of sporting venues such as Croke Park, and out of schools. He will discuss a course of action with the Minister for Health.
Industry lobby group MEAS - whose members include the Vintners Federation of Ireland and the Licensed Vintners Association - was set up to encourage sensible drinking. It has received complaints about the product, which it intends to investigate. The group's chief executive, Ms Fionnuala Sheehan, said it instructed pubs and other businesses selling alcohol not to stock the sachets. If businesses refused to comply with the request, it would raise that refusal with gardaí when licences came up for renewal.
But Dr Joe Elias, the major shareholder of the Little Drinks Company behind the sachet concept, said the drink was the "most responsible spirits product on the market. We are the only ones who quantify what a medical unit of alcohol is. We also encourage people to retain the sachets to keep track of how many units they have consumed in any one night".
Dr Elias said the sachets carried warnings on the dangers of excessive drinking, underage drinking and drink-driving.
"We've gotten major support on the ground, from people phoning radio stations and that kind of thing. The product is in around 30 off licences already, more and more people have contacted us saying they want to stock it."
He denied the product targeted younger drinkers. "There are no sweeteners in it, no colouring. This is an adult drink which allows people to keep track of exactly how much they have consumed."
Mr Martin said tax increases on alcopops had been successful and he would discuss increasing tax on the new vodka product with Cabinet colleagues. He thought there might be legal obstacles in seeking to ban the product outright but this avenue would also be explored.
"I am very concerned about these vodka sachets. I regard them as an unacceptable development. It runs counter to our attempts to reduce the level of alcohol consumption among children," he said.
He added that the main source of alcohol for children and teenagers appeared to be from off-licences and he called on proprietors not to stock the product.
"I am appealing to people not to sell this ... From a public health perspective, we view this with significant concern," said Mr Martin.
The Licensed Vintners Association, representing 95 per cent of Dublin publicans, has asked its members not to stock the new off-trade drink.
Mr Donall O'Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA, said such products were "totally inappropriate and send out all the wrong signals".
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland, representing 6,000 rural publicans, is seriously concerned about the introduction of the drink.
VFI president Mr Séamus O'Donoghue, said the group had "worked hard to prevent the introduction of certain drinks that are clearly targeting young people".
The National Off-Licence Association has also asked its members not to stock the drink saying it considered vodka sachets to be an "inappropriate addition to the production range available in Irish off-licences".
Mr Jim McCabe, a spokesman for the group, said if MEAS instructed pubs and off-licences not to stock the drink the Little Drinks Company might find the product was not commercially viable.
"It's all about pressure and there have been certain products in the past which have been opposed and then disappeared off the scene."