Madam, – Ash Ireland was extremely concerned to hear Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan imply that there may be no price increase on cigarettes in the April 7th budget. There is a huge amount of data to show that price is the single most important factor in determining whether young people start smoking and in encouraging people to quit.
Cigarettes kill up to half the people that use them, leaving many who survive disabled and in poor health. Smoking-related diseases have enormous cost implications for the already underfunded health service. We are concerned that yet again the Government is capitulating to vested interests, particularly the tobacco companies.
It is no surprise that these billion-dollar companies don’t want a tax increase as a decrease in consumption would affect their profits. Smuggling benefits tobacco companies as it increases consumption and hence dependence on this highly addictive product. Furthermore, they use this issue to persuade Governments not to increase tax on tobacco.
We were also appalled at what would appear to be Government complacency in dealing with the smuggling issue. This is a worldwide problem which occurs regardless of the price of cigarettes. Indeed levels of smuggling are much higher in countries with high levels of corruption and poor law enforcement. We were shocked to see the use of children in this illegal activity on Thursday night’s Prime Time programme. The fines and deterrents for smuggling are totally insufficient and this must be addressed by the Government. – Yours, etc,