Wednesday 1 July 2009
ASH Scotland Chief Executive Sheila Duffy today [Wednesday 1 July] congratulated Ireland on the decisive action it is taking to reduce youth smoking.
From the 1st July 2009 onwards no advertising or display of tobacco products will be allowed in Irish retail outlets. A register of retailers is also being created - anybody who wishes to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products must first register with the Irish authorities. Self-service cigarette vending machines are to be prohibited except in licensed premises, and must be operated in accordance with strict regulations.
Commenting on the Irish legislation, Sheila Duffy said:
“I congratulate Ireland for decisively implementing legislation to end the tobacco industry’s ability to market its products at the point of sale through elaborate ‘power wall’ displays.
“Ireland was ahead of Scotland and among the first in the world to protect the health of employees by implementing smoke-free laws for pubs, restaurants, and workplaces in March 2004. Once again Ireland is setting the standard, this time by ending the promotion of carefully designed cigarette branding and advertising which appeals mostly to children and young people. Such lethal and addictive products should not be promoted next to everyday products in shops across the country.
“Ireland now joins a host of other nations - Iceland, Thailand, Tasmania and the majority of Canadian provinces - which have taken similar steps to shut down the tobacco industry’s advertising through their highly engineered power wall displays.
“Just as the tobacco industry, seeking to protect its own interests, manufactured scare stories about the impact of smoke-free public place laws on pubs and clubs, so we’ve seen similar misinformation being spun around the impact of removing tobacco displays to shops, both in Ireland, and here in Scotland, and many retailers are understandably alarmed. However, there is no evidence from other nations to back the tobacco industry claims that retailers will suffer as a result of the ending these promotional displays.
“Similar legislation to Ireland’s is currently passing through the Scottish Parliament, in the form of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill. The tobacco industry, seeing a threat to its 40 a day habit of recruiting new young smokers in Scotland(3), is doing all it can to undermine, dilute and delay these measures.
“Following the Irish lead, we should do all we can to support strong legislation that will protect young people from the predatory marketing advances of a cynical industry.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
1. ASH Scotland is an independent Scottish charity working in partnership to protect people from the harm caused by tobacco. Registered Scottish charity number SC 010412.
2. More details on the Irish Legislation are available from the Office for Tobacco Control: http://www.otc.ie/
3. 15,000 young people (aged 13-24) start smoking each year: Scottish Public Health Observatory, Tobacco Smoking in Scotland: An Epidemiology Briefing. http://www.scotpho.org.uk/home/Publications/scotphoreports/pub_tobaccobriefing.asp