CSNA accuses Health Minister of ignoring Irish consumers
Association writes that Minister failed to publish results of public consultation process into the Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) *Written by the CSNA for ShelfLife
1 July 2013
The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) says the compromise that the Irish Presidency proposed to the European Council regarding the draft Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) is disappointing from the perspective of Irish retailers and adult tobacco smokers.
The original TPD (published in December 2012) contained a proposal that roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco should be sold in packets containing not less than 40g.
The CSNA had identified this aspect of the TPD as being of crucial importance as it would, the association believe, lead to a very significant (320%) increase in the price paid by consumers for their RYO products, without any additional public health benefits flowing from the weight stipulation.
The CSNA put it to the Department of Health and the European Commissioners that the stated reason for requiring the weight of RYO products to be fixed at a minimum of 40g was based on the desire to have a bigger health warning on each RYO packet. The association pointed out that the surface area of the packaging for 12.5g, 25g, and 50g packets of RYO sold in Ireland were all the same and as such, the "bigger" surface area requirement would not be met.
The 12.5g and 25g packets are by far the most popular sizes that Irish adult RYO consumers choose to purchase. Over 94% of all RYO sold are in these weight categories. If the TPD is not revised to remove the illogical weight restriction, thousands of customers will be forced to pay much more for their tobacco product of choice.
At the moment, a 12.5g of RYO is €5.00; the new 40g weight will force the Irish consumer to pay €16.50 for the new 40g product, a packet that will have a health warning that would have the exact same dimension as would have been on a packet containing either the 12.5g or 25g product. The CSNA has been led to understand that the compromises agreed upon last week were as a result of strenuous objections from a number of European governments.
The Irish Presidency was aware of the very significant and punitive costs to Irish consumers that the proposed 40g restriction would impose but obviously chose to ignore these legitimate objections. In the rest of the EU, the minimum weight for RYO is already in excess of 40g so the issue does not arise but in both the UK and Ireland, the consumer will be forced to pay more without any health information benefits.The Department embarked on what must have been an expensive public consultation process, designed to inform the minister on stakeholders’ opinions of the TPD; neither he nor the Department have ever seen fit to publish the outcome of this consultation process although the association managed to obtain over 3,000 postcards from members and their staff outlining their objections to the RYO aspect of the TPD, a point re-iterated in the formal written response which the CSNA submitted to government.
*Written by the CSNA for ShelfLife
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