Sir, – I find great difficulty in differentiating your editorial line (Editorial, “A packet of what?”, June 3rd) from that provided in a press release from the Department of Health regarding the Minister’s announcement of the Cabinet’s approval to introduce plain packaging for cigarette packets.
The fact you have chosen to truncate and omit certain words used in the press release also displays an unacceptable level of willingness to suggest the validity of the Minister’s decision.You suggest packets of cigarettes currently sold in Ireland use terms such as “mild” and “light”. They department used the conditional phrase “in the past” when referring to the practice, outlawed in the Republic since 2002. I do not know why you chose to omit this phrase but cannot imagine that it was done unintentionally.
As none of us has seen any “proposed legislation”, I find it incredible you can assert that the standard packaging will remove all colours and logos, set against one plain neutral colour.
You further contend there is “evidence to suggest” that the measures increase the effectiveness of health warnings and reduce false health beliefs about cigarettes, but do not provide any “evidence”. In the only country in the world, Australia, that has implemented a plain packaging regime, the department of health was unable to provide such “evidence” of effectiveness to the UK department of health when its assistance was sought.
There is no doubt the measures being considered will have the effect of causing significant financial costs upon the tobacco companies. It will also manage to further boost the earnings of the legal teams for the State and the tobacco companies. It will not reduce demand for the product within the country, but will most likely assist criminal gangs by reducing their need to counterfeit individual pantone and logos. The department is silent on how it will police the 440 million packets of cigarettes that Revenue and itself acknowledge are imported legally (duty-free) by Irish adults each year, all of which, it could be suggested are,to use both your (and the department’s) words““mobile advertisements for the tobacco industry”.
Retailers of tobacco products in Ireland have legitimate concerns regarding measures that seem to have as their primary focus actions designed to punish tobacco companies without supporting equally severe measures against the criminals that are earning billions of euro through the illicit market. Whether we approve of the product or detest it, the State is receiving very substantial and much-needed revenue from the legitimate sales of tobacco, unlike the money that the criminal gangs siphon away each year. – Yours, etc,
VINCENT JENNINGS,
Chief Executive Officer
Convenience Stores and
Newsagents Association,
Market Square,
Kildare, Co Kildare.