Ireland: 60c Tax Hike Sought for 20 Cigarettes

Source from:  Irish Medical Times  11/14/2012

ASH Ireland has called on Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to put an additional 60 cent on the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes and related products in the 2013 Budget.

The group is also seeking to bring the taxation on 'roll-your-own' tobacco in line with the tax on other tobacco products, and has proposed that VAT be removed from all nicotine replacement patches. In the UK, VAT is charged at a much reduced rate of 5 per cent on nicotine replacement patches, which ASH Ireland says is a major contributory factor to the significant price difference of these products in Ireland and Britain.
 
Dr Ross Morgan, Chairman of ASH Ireland, said that significant price increases are established and accepted as the most potent weapon against smoking. "Significant price increase encourages smokers to quit and discourages young people from commencing the habit. Regrettably, we have more than 900,000 smokers in this country who consume roughly 6 billion cigarettes annually.
 
"This of course leads to addiction, significant tobacco-related illness and the death of 5,700 of our citizens every year.
 
"One-in-two people who smoke will die because of this and it is incumbent on the Government to take a leadership role and increase price and in doing so, reduce prevalence," Dr Morgan said.
 
ASH Ireland has also suggested a 50 cent environmental levy on all tobacco products to be charged to the tobacco industry, as a way of recouping the massive cost associated with dealing with tobacco litter. And an additional €5 million per annum should be provided over the next five years to combat tobacco smuggling, it has been suggested.
 
"It is imperative that the Government continues to take all possible measures which can reduce smoking levels and also reduce the €1.5 billion annual spend on treating tobacco-related disease," said Dr Morgan. "The fight against tobacco and addiction is an ongoing challenge, as we are dealing with an industry which will do everything possible to recruit and retain smokers, so that their massive profits can be increased.
 
"Successive governments have made significant inroads but they must sustain their efforts, or we will see smoking levels and deaths from tobacco increase, and expenditure on tobacco-related disease increase in the years and decades ahead," he warned. Enditem