Madam, - The Government has not increased the price of cigarettes in the past two budgets. This has resulted in a reversal of the decline in smoking that followed the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in March 2004.
According to the Office for Tobacco control, smoking rates are rising among 15- to 18-year-olds, 19- to 35-year-olds and among women. Surely the Government cannot neglect to increase the price of cigarettes sharply in Budget 2007? - Yours, etc,
JOHN McCORMACK, Chief Executive, Irish Cancer Society, Northumberland Road, Dublin 4.