Tag: Ireland

  • Sin products seized

    Sin products seized

    Irish Revenue officers seized 98,000 cigarettes, more than 4 kg of tobacco and 2,950 litres of alcohol in Dublin Port on Friday, according to an Irish Examiner story.

    The alcohol and cigarettes were discovered when officers stopped and searched a foreign-registered bus and van that had disembarked a ferry from Holyhead, Wales.

    The tobacco products were branded Marlboro, Kent, Winston, Winchester, Vogue and Davidoff. They were said to have been concealed within numerous packages being transported in the bus and van.

    The seized alcohol and tobacco products were said to have a ‘combined retail value of €89,600, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €62,500’.

  • Nanny nominees named

    Nanny nominees named

    The smokers’ group Forest Ireland has announced the shortlist for its Golden Nanny Awards to be held in Dublin next week.
    The annual event, launched last year, honors politicians, NGOs and individuals who support ‘nanny state’ regulations on lifestyle issues including smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol or eating ‘unhealthy’ foods.
    Among those shortlisted for awards are the Minister for Health Simon Harris; the former health minister Dr. James Reilly; the former minister of state for health promotion Marcella Corcoran Kennedy; Professor Donal O’Shea, clinical lead for obesity, Health Service Executive; Dr. Patrick Doorley, chairman, ASH Ireland; Dr. Bobby Smyth, board member, Alcohol Action Ireland; and Eunan McKinney, head of communications and advocacy, Alcohol Action Ireland.
    ‘Following the introduction of campus smoking bans, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the University of Limerick have also been shortlisted for a “Nanny”, Forest Ireland said in a press note.
    ‘Another nominee, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, has been shortlisted after its chief executive gave a “cautious welcome” to a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.’
    John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Ireland, said the Golden Nanny Awards celebrated excellence in finger-wagging and an unhealthy desire to intervene in other people’s lives.
    “This year’s shortlist is particularly strong,” he said. “Choosing the winners will be difficult because every nominee deserves a Nanny.
    “The judging panel will examine the evidence very carefully before deciding who should receive one of these coveted awards.”
    The Golden Nanny Awards are organised by Forest [Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco] Ireland and supported by Students for Liberty Ireland.
    The winners of the 2018 awards will be announced at a dinner in Dublin on November 20.

  • Quitting through willpower

    Quitting through willpower

    About 42 percent of Irish smokers who quit during the past year did so through willpower alone, while 41 percent used electronic cigarettes, according to a story by Catherine Shanahan, health correspondent of the Irish Examiner, quoting a new report.
    The report was based on the Healthy Ireland Survey 2018, which was published yesterday and which involved interviews with 7,701 people aged 15 and older.
    One of the main findings of the report was that where people live can have a significant bearing on their health, with those in deprived areas more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as binge drinking and smoking.
    The report shows that one-third of people living in deprived areas have a long-standing illness compared to under a quarter of people living in affluent areas.
    Women living in deprived areas are more likely than those in affluent areas to continue smoking and binge drinking (six or more standard drinks) into their 50s, while men aged 55-64 living in deprived areas are 2.5 times more likely to smoke than their peers in affluent areas.
    Across both genders, the report found:

    • The incidence of smoking in deprived areas is 10 percentage points higher (26 percent v 16 percent) than it is in affluent areas.
    • The incidence of binge drinking in deprived areas is five percentage points higher (31 percent v 26 percent) than it is in affluent areas.
    • Those in deprived areas are less likely to visit a dentist but make more visits to their GP than those in affluent areas.

    In more general terms, the report found that men had a more ‘lax attitude’ toward their health than women did, with higher levels of binge drinking and smoking among men, higher consumption of sugary drinks and less likelihood of getting the flu vaccine.
    The survey showed some success in cutting the incidence of smoking, which went from 23 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2018.
    Meanwhile, 23 percent of smokers say health warnings on tobacco packs have made them ‘at least somewhat more likely to quit smoking’.

  • Looking again at that map

    Looking again at that map

    Ireland risks missing its ‘tobacco-free’ target date by 27 years, according to a story by John Downing at independent.ie citing a warning by the country’s Health Service Executive (HSE).
    The predicted delay is said to be putting new pressure on Health Minister Simon Harris to soften his stance on electronic cigarettes to help more smokers quit.
    The Government is committed to being ‘tobacco-free’ – with less than five percent of the population still smoking – by 2025.
    But an HSE report says that, based on current trends, this target will not be met until 2052.
    At present, 18 percent of Irish people smoke daily.
    Smoking – directly and passively – is said to be responsible for 100 deaths and more than 1,000 hospital episodes every week across the country.
    ‘More of the same may not be enough to affect the step change required to move to the end game,’ the HSE report says.
    Fine Gael’s Senator Catherine Noone said the report concluded that Ireland should “continue to scan the horizon to understand and determine policy on the role of e-cigarettes and other new technologies and opportunities for the tobacco end game in Ireland”.
    She added that using e-cigarettes was “very far from ideal” but may be a “least-worst option”.

  • New communications chief

    New communications chief

    Amanda Pierce

    Philip Morris Limited (PM UK), a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, said today that the former Burson-Marsteller CEO and McDonald’s PR chief Amanda Pierce had been appointed as its new head of communications.
    ‘In the newly created post, Amanda will lead on driving the overall communications strategies for Philip Morris Ltd to support the company’s ambition to create a smoke-free future,’ PM UK said in a press note. ‘Central to this is the company’s shift towards smoke free products like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco that will ultimately allow the business to stop selling cigarettes.
    ‘She will spearhead the company’s corporate public relations program in the UK and Ireland, as well as overseeing external communications, stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility, campaigns and employee engagement.’
    PM UK said that Pierce was highly regarded in the PR industry and joined PMI with a first-class background in corporate communications and transformational change.
    ‘During her 16-year tenure at McDonald’s, she played a key role in designing and overseeing the delivery of a change strategy that reversed declining sales within the business and began restoring its reputation in the face of external criticism towards the firm. This work saw McDonald’s trust scores rise by 10 points over a two-year period…
    ‘In 2008, Amanda joined global communications agency Burson-Marsteller, going onto serve as its UK CEO, a role in which she advised some of the world’s leading companies including Shell, DeBeers, Kimberly-Clark, Danone, and GSK.’

  • Addicted to socializing

    Addicted to socializing

    Smoking the odd cigarette with friends after a few drinks may seem relatively harmless, but, according to a story at independent.ie, research in the US has suggested that it may be as dangerous as an everyday habit.
    More than 10 percent of the 39,000 people surveyed as part of the research said they were ‘social smokers’, compared with 17 percent who said they smoked daily. The study found that about 75 percent of both groups had high blood pressure, while 54 percent had high cholesterol.
    The source of the research was not mentioned, but the story was in any case focused on why some people smoke at social events when it isn’t something they would do day-to-day?
    “Social smoking is nothing to do with addiction to nicotine,” clinical hypnotherapist Fiona Brennan was quoted as saying. “It is all about the desire to belong. When we encounter new challenges in life such as starting college, or a new job, above all we want to fit in.”
    But while social smoking was said to have nothing to do with addiction, Brennan said that there was the possibility that it would eventually lead to full-time addiction.
    Nicotine, the story said, was highly addictive, and while the addiction had a physical component, it was mainly psychological. If a person started smoking socially, she would first make the connection between smoking and having fun and feeling confident. But smoking could then become a crutch on nights out, and this could leak into other areas of life.

  • Youngsters smoking less

    Youngsters smoking less

    Smoking among Ireland’s 15-16 age group fell from 41 percent (45 percent of females and 37 percent of males) in 1995, to 13 percent (12.8 percent and 13.1 percent) in 2015, according to a story in the Irish Examiner, relayed by the TMA and citing a new study published in BMJ Open.
    Factors that affected smoking were said to include having friends who smoked, parental involvement, easy access to cigarettes, skipping school, relationships with mothers and the perception of the risks of smoking.
    “The results of this study suggest that smoking in this age group can achieve the Tobacco Free Ireland strategy of less than five percent prevalence by 2025 – if tobacco control measures continue to be enforced and strengthened,” said Professor Luke Clancy, director of the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland.

  • Illicit factory closed

    Illicit factory closed

    An illicit tobacco factory capable of producing 250,000 cigarettes an hour has been uncovered in Ireland, according to a story by Michael Lanigan for Joe.ie.
    In a joint operation at Jenkinstown, County Louth, on March 15, Revenue and police officers arrested 11 men and closed the plant.
    According to Revenue, the factory was in full production when its officers and an armed support unit entered the premises.
    Revenue officers were said to have found more than 40 tonnes of tobacco, other cigarette-manufacturing materials, and about 25 million cigarettes, which were branded ‘Mayfair’ and ready for distribution.
    Revenue described the plant as a sophisticated, self-contained operation with machinery capable of producing 250,000 cigarettes an hour, and ‘pre-processing, processing and packaging facilities’. It included also living quarters.
    The illicit cigarettes being produced in the factory had previously been seized in both Ireland and the UK.

  • Legislation not needed

    Legislation not needed

    Campaigners in Ireland say a ban on smoking in al fresco dining areas would be ‘unfair and unreasonable’ and will ‘do nothing to improve public health’.
    These comments were made in response to a poll carried out on behalf of Claire Byne Live and TheJournal.ie that found that 64 percent of people would like to see smoking banned in outdoor areas where food is served. Thirty percent said ‘no’ to the ban and six percent were undecided.
    “Pubs, restaurants and cafés are private businesses. Whether they choose to allow smoking outside, where there is no risk to anyone else’s health, should be up to them,” said John Mallon, spokesman for the smokers’ group Forest Ireland.
    “Pubs in particular took a huge hit from the smoking ban with many closing as a direct result. Why should the future of many more businesses be put at risk on the altar of tobacco control?
    “Enough’s enough. Banning smoking outside, even in al fresco dining areas, is unfair and unreasonable and will do nothing to improve public health.”
    According to a story in The Journal.ie announcing the results of the poll, even without legislation in place, an ‘increasing number of restaurants have been extending smoke-free zones to outdoor areas…’.

  • Heated tax call

    Heated tax call

    The Irish government has been urged to tax heat-not-burn (HNB) products at the highest rate imposed on tobacco products, according to a story by John Downing for the independent.ie.
    Colm Brophy, a Fine Gael member of Ireland’s lower house of parliament, has called for these products to be taxed at the same rate as is imposed on combustible cigarettes, once they are introduced to Ireland.
    “Heated cigarettes are the latest gimmick from the tobacco industry,” he said. “Rolls of tobacco are heated and smoked after insertion into an electronic device,” he claimed.
    “They are being marketed at young people and it is expected that tobacco companies will introduce heated cigarettes to Ireland in the very near future.
    “At the moment, there is no common EU definition on taxation of heated cigarettes.
    “That is why Ireland should put in an additional stand-alone category of taxation for heated cigarette products …,” he said.
    Brophy said such a tax rate would protect government revenues.
    “The State should not be ‘subventing’ the profits of tobacco companies by giving them lower taxation rates on this product, such as the lower rates of tax on other tobacco products, including rolling tobacco and pipe tobacco,” he added.