Smokers feeling the effects of the ban on smoking in the workplace would be hit again, this time financially, if a proposal from the largest doctor representative organisation in the State was to be accepted by the Minister for Finance.
The Irish Medical Organisation wants the price of cigarettes increased by €2 a packet in the next Budget. This would bring the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes to over €8.
IMO president Dr Joe Barry said there were huge health benefits to be gained from decreased smoking rates in the population and that one of the most effective ways of doing so was to increase their price.
He said smoking rates were coming down but he would like to see them drop further. National smoking rates fell by 4 per cent from 31 to 27 per cent between 1998 and 2002, according to the recent national health and lifestyle surveys.
The issue of the cost of cigarettes will be debated in full at the IMO's annual conference, which begins on April 15th.
However, it is unlikely the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, will fully accede to the IMO's request for a €2 price increase given the effect it would have on inflation.