The tobacco industry, unlike any other, is the one sector where the Government is not afraid to annoy multinationals. Irish cigarettes sales, once largely a job for indigenous companies, are now dominated by big international players.
And though doctors and parents around the country may be rejoicing at Health Minister James Reilly's war on smoking – he wants a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025 – those players are less than pleased.
The Irish industry is dominated by Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which holds about 50pc of the market. Its brands include Camel, Benson and Hedges and Silk Cut. The company came to Ireland in 2009 with the acquisition of the Gallagher Group, an Irish company founded in 1857 by Derry man Tom Gallagher.
It now has more than 100 permanent Irish employees. Based in Tallaght, it directly supplies 3,700 retailers and generates more than €700m per annum in taxes.
The other two big players are John Player and PJ Carroll, who hold around 40pc and a tenth of the market respectively.
Source: Sarah McCabe, Irish Independent, 07/08/2013
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