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PLAIN PACKAGING JULY 2016 After nothing short of an all-out crusade for its introduction in this country, arguments around the projected benefits of plain packaging versus the lack of tangible evidence of its effectiveness have been well rehearsed. The Land Down Under has been lauded as an example of its undisputed success. Unfortunately that’s not entirely correct. At least we can rest easy in the knowledge that if you put something that’s potentially not very good for you in an unappealing wrapper people will stop buying it. Yep. That’ll definitely work.
EUROSTAT - CONSUMER PRICE LEVEL INDICES JULY 2016 On 15 June 2016 Eurostat published its consumer price level indices results for 2015. The results refer to a survey on food, beverage and tobacco prices. Having covered 440 comparable products the survey found that the highest price disparities across EU Member States are in respect of tobacco. HIGHEST PRICE DISPARITIES IN TOBACCO Tobacco price levels were almost four times higher in the most expensive Member State than the cheapest. Lowest price levels were found in Bulgaria (50% of the EU average), Croatia and Lithuania (both 56%), with the highest in the United Kingdom (218%) followed by Ireland (189%). While Irish media coverage of the Eurostat publication dwelt largely on the perceived unfairness of Ireland being the most expensive Member State in which to buy alcohol (at a staggering 175% of the EU average), little was said about excessive excise rates on tobacco also being unfair. RECENT DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE RESULTS The start of this month saw Finance reporting results for the first half of the year including: • Tax revenue of €22,523 million - representing a year-on-year increase of €1,901 million (9.2%) which is €742 million (3.4%) above profile; • Excise duty of €3,165 million – representing a year-on-year increase of €716 million which is €401 million above profile; and • €22.5 billion taken in taxes - nearly three quarters of a billion more than expected. Having been subjected to successive tax hikes over many years (as a result of highly questionable policy), we are hopeful that smokers will see the benefit of these results in the next Budget. INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT Bet you didn’t know there was such a thing as the Institute of Public Health? Neither did we until 14 June when they presented us with their take on “Smoke-free spaces on the island of Ireland”. We now know that they’re a Belfast based outfit with links to the HSE and HIQA. In discussing its contents, their Director of Policy referenced “a trend to ban smoking from all public places and to reduce the harm caused by second hand smoke”. That would be fine but for the fact that cigarette smoke in any outdoor setting has never been proved to pose any risk to those exposed to it. As is often the case, publication of reports like this leave us wondering who pays for this misinformation, how much does it cost, and couldn’t that money be spent on more worthwhile issues?
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