Tobacco Free Ireland document welcomed by NFRN Ireland
NFRN Ireland welcomes new document by the Tobacco Policy Review Group but is disappointed by failure to address growing criminal trade
Print4 October 2013
The new Tobacco Free Ireland document, produced by the Tobacco Policy Review Group and launched by the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, has been welcomed by The National Federation of Retail Newsagents in Ireland (NFRN Ireland).
NFRN Ireland has fully supported the government in its efforts to make Irish people healthier and, in particular, to curb smoking. However, at a time when more than one in four cigarettes smoked in Ireland is illegal, NFRN Ireland is disappointed that the document fails to address the growing criminal fuelled trade in tobacco products.
Only three of the 63 recommendations outlined in the document, refer in the most general terms to the illicit trade. The proposal to increase excise duty over a continuous five year period is believed by the group, to be good news for smugglers and criminals who will see demand for their illegal products surge as their price point becomes more attractive.
NFRN Ireland also sees the proposal to develop a further licensing system for retailers who sell tobacco products as yet another layer of bureaucratic compliance on retailers who already have to be licensed to sell tobacco and who, statistics show, are hugely compliant in the areas of display and sales to minors.
There is also a proposal to introduce a minimum suspension period for retailers convicted of a selling offence, despite the fact that the HSE’s own figures show that retailers are 95% compliant with display legislation and 85% compliant on sales to minors. There was only one conviction in 2011.
Commenting on the report, NFRN Ireland president Joe Sweeney said: "Health warnings on cigarette boxes may alert smokers to the dangers of smoking but the Minister’s drive towards plain packaging will only make it easier for illegal products to be passed off. Illegal cigarettes costing less than one third of legal products are brazenly sold in markets, on streets, near schools and from door to door. Without a massive clampdown on the illegal trade through increased penalties and greater enforcement, oversize health warnings and plain packaging are nothing but tokenistic, feel good nonsense."
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