Irish government’s tobacco policy far from plain

The Irish government has been accused of double standards in its fight against tobacco after it emerged that the state has multimillion-euro investments in the tobacco industry, according to a story in the Irish Examiner.

The finance spokesman for the opposition Fianna Fáil party, Michael McGrath, made the charge on the basis of figures showing that the state has €50 million invested in firms operating in the tobacco, defence, and alcohol industries.

In a written response to McGrath, Finance Minister Michael Noonan confirmed that the state, through its Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, has €9.6 million invested in tobacco-industry companies; €27.1 million invested in alcohol-industry companies, and €14.1 million invested in the aerospace and defence industries.

Parliament last week passed legislation requiring that cigarettes be retailed in standardized packaging. The bill must now be signed by President Michael D. Higgins.

The legislation has put the government on a collision course with companies in the industry, some of which have threatened to sue.

A recent study by Credit Suisse on the best equity market performers over the very long term shows that nothing beats tobacco and alcohol stocks.