Irish government urged to cream-off tobacco manufacturers’ profits

The Irish government has been asked to appoint a regulator who would limit the profits of the tobacco industry and, in doing so, generate around €150m a year for the exchequer, according to a story by Eilish O’Regan for the Irish Independent.

The request was made by the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society when they outlined their pre-budget submissions to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.

Under the scheme, the regulator would limit the amount of profit tobacco companies could make and any additional surplus made would go to the state.

Chris Macey, the Irish Heart Foundation’s head of advocacy, was reported to have said that this system had “worked effectively for other industries”.

“It would mean the tobacco manufacturers had less money to invest in smooth marketing techniques, public relations agencies and other initiatives aimed at undermining the government’s efforts to reduce the smoking rate,” he added.

Macey estimated that €150m would cover the wages of 4,167 extra nurses, 4,853 new primary school teachers, 5,480 new Garda recruits, 7,188 new special needs assistants; 165,000 extra hospital bed days, or 100 new MRI scanners.