A ban on the sale of cigarettes in pubs and clubs and restricted trading hours for tobacco products have been proposed in a report by the Oireachtas health committee.
The report says information messages setting out the ingredients and emissions of tobacco products, similar to those used in Australia, should be required on at least one side of tobacco packaging.
Brand and variant names appearing on individual cigarette sticks should also be prohibited in any new legislation on tobacco plain packaging, it says.
The report was presented to Minister for Health James Reilly, who is currently drawing up legislation to introduce standardaised packaging for tobacco products. In another recommendation it says consideration should be given to the introduction of a "polluter pays" type levy on tobacco manufacturers to offset the healthcare costs associationed with tobacco use.
The Oireachtas committee’s report also backs the Minister’s plans to ban smoking in cars where children are present, and says the sale of tobacco products from mobile units and containers should be banned.
UK review
Dr Reilly noted the publication yesterday in the UK of an independent review of the evidence for standardised tobacoo packaging and the intention of the UK government to publish regulations on the issue.
Welcoming the report by Sir Cyril Chantler, he said it provided clear evidence of the benefit to public health which the measure would provide, particularly for children.
“In my view this further strengthens the evidence base for standardised packaging of tobacco products and reaffirms Ireland’s commitment to introduce legislation to give effect to the introduction of standardised packaging,” he said.
The UK government says it is minded to proceed with plain packaging, but will first conduct a short consultation.
