The State may lose tax revenue through the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products but this will be offset by savings from reduced deaths and illness linked to smoking, according to a Department of Health study.
While the Government may incur costs from possible legal challenges to the legislation from the tobacco industry, the legislation will result in a reduction of smoking-related health costs, estimated at more than €660 million a year.
The tobacco industry is increasingly turning to packaging, particularly the cigarette pack, as a “key marketing tool” in response to restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship, according to the department’s regulatory impact analysis of introduction of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill.
“The evidence indicates that tobacco packaging is a critically important form of tobacco promotion, particularly in jurisdictions with comprehensive advertising and marketing restrictions, such as Ireland. ”
Standard packaging is the latest strand of tobacco control legislation aimed at “denormalising” smoking in Ireland and is designed to complement earlier initiatives, it says.
Source: Paul Cullen, Irish Times, 08/08/14
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