Charities’ shock at Taoiseach’s tobacco meeting

The Chief Executives of Ireland’s largest health charities have written to the Taoiseach to communicate their shock that he, Minister Michael Noonan and Minister Alan Shatter hosted a meeting on May 7th for the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee (ITMAC).

The charities have said that they are very concerned that the most senior level of Government met an industry whose only objective is to keep people smoking. The tobacco industry costs the State €1 billion more in healthcare costs than the Exchequer collects in taxes annually. They say that the tobacco is not a normal industry and cannot be allowed a seat at the decision-making table.

In Ireland, the tobacco industry has to attract 50 new smokers a day to replace those who die or quit. Most of these are children who go on to be lifetime smokers and half of whom will later die from their addiction.

The Irish Cancer Society and Irish Heart Foundation have said in their letter that meeting the tobacco industry may have contravened Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) to which Ireland is a signatory. The two national charities state in the letter that “there is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests. There is no purpose in Governments, their servants or agents meeting the industry except on very narrow regulatory issues.”

Article 5.3 states: ‘In setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.’

Kathleen O’Meara (pictured top), Head of Advocacy and Communications at the Irish Cancer Society, said, “The tobacco industry is trying everything it can to derail efforts designed to stop Irish people dying from smoking. Any organisation that tries to block, delay or disrupt legislation that will reduce the smoking rate is at the expense of Irish lives. The tobacco industry uses meetings like this recent one with the Taoiseach and senior Government Ministers to create a false air of credibility about their business practices but the reality is that this is a duplicitous industry that cannot be trusted.”

Ms. O’Meara continued, “We and the Irish Heart Foundation fully support the Minister for Health as he drives forward with vital pieces of legislation that will reduce the number of children who start smoking in Ireland. The tobacco industry has been so successful at marketing their product to young people here that Irish children start smoking at a younger age than in any other country in Europe. This cannot be allowed to continue and we call on the Taoiseach and all elected representatives to stand strong and not be manipulated by the false arguments made by the tobacco industry.”

The two charities have requested to meet the Taoiseach, Minister Noonan and Minister Shatter as soon as possible.