Forest Eireann: don't increase tobacco duty

A smokers' lobby group has ridiculed anti-smoking campaigners who want to increase the price of tobacco.

The Irish Heart Foundation wants a one-euro tax increase on a packet of cigarettes and has urged Finance Minister Michael Noonan to take action in December's Budget.

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, said:

"Criminal gangs must be rubbing their hands at the thought of a further increase in tobacco duty.

"Excessive taxation encourages smuggling and that in turn leads to a loss in revenue.

"Cheap black market tobacco also fuels an increase in consumption.

"The only sensible policy is to reduce tobacco duty or maintain a tax freeze.

"In these difficult economic times we urge Mr Noonan to put pragmatism ahead of anti-smoking fanaticism."

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Smokers' champion takes to the road

A champion of smokers’ rights in Ireland has begun a two-week tour of the country.

John Mallon, spokesman for the smokers’ group Forest Eireann, will visit pubs and bars in Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Tralee, Limerick, Galway, Ballyhaunis, Westport, Letterkenny and Dublin.

He will speak to publicans and consumers, inviting smokers to have their say on issues such as the public smoking ban, graphic health warnings and smoking in cars.

He will also distribute copies of Forest Eireann’s ‘Smokers’ Manifesto’ which calls on the Government to “treat one million adults with the respect they deserve”.

Calling for greater tolerance and common sense on the issue of smoking, Mallon said:

“I represent the rights of adults who make an informed choice to smoke tobacco in full knowledge of the health risks associated with this legal product.

“I respect the rights of non-smokers but I do not believe that it is necessary nor desirable to deny smokers their own rights. We seek compromise and accommodation for all tastes and opinions, not denormalisation, social exclusion and different treatment for a substantial minority of the population.

“While the smoking ban has been claimed as a success, it has forced the closure of over 1,000 pubs with all of the job losses that entails. The number of smokers has risen from 23.5% of the population to 29%. Also, the artificial inflation of tobacco pricing has given criminal elements a huge profit motive for their activities, something we regret on many grounds.

“Given that smokers contribute an extra £1.5Bn a year above and beyond all the other taxes they pay, we are asking the Government to look at the regulations that currently insist that a perfectly legal smoking room must be open to the elements and is therefore cold, wet and draughty in our climate. There is no medical, moral nor economic reason why this should be so.”

– ends –

John Mallon’s tour schedule – 12-26 October 2011:

Wednesday 12th October – Cork
Thursday 13th October – Waterford
Friday 14th October – Kilkenny

Monday 17th October – Tralee, Co Kerry
Tuesday 18th October – Limerick
Wednesday 19th October – Galway
Thursday 20th Oct October – Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo
Friday 21st Oct October – Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Tuesday 25th October – Dublin
Wednesday 26th October – Dublin

John is available for interview throughout the tour. Telephone 085 219 3245.

Government must act to stop pub closures

The Government should intervene to save Ireland’s pubs, according to Forest Eireann, the smoker’s lobby group. The call comes on the back of new data showing a dramatic decline in employment in the pub trade.

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, urged the Government to support the drinks industry in its efforts to fight job losses in the pub trade. He said:

“Research last year showed that the smoking ban has made a big contribution to pub closures, and this has been compounded by below-cost selling by large retailers, driving customers to the off-trade. These factors are a direct result of legislation and it is therefore within the remit of the Government to address them.”

The new figures, released by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), show that 7,000 jobs were lost in the sector, reducing employment to just 50,000.

“It is ironic to think that a smoking ban ostensibly introduced to protect the health of bar staff should be contributing to their loss of employment,” Mallon said.

The drinks industry in Ireland contributes €2 billion in tax revenue to the state each year and is responsible for €1.25 billion in exports annually.

“If the Government is willing to allow this business to fail through its own inaction, then perhaps we should ask how it proposes to replace the revenue deficit that must surely follow,” he added.

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Amend smoking ban "to help save the Irish pub"

Seven years after the smoking ban came into effect in all Irish workplaces, a smokers’ group has called for the legislation to be amended to bring Ireland into line with most European countries and “help save the Irish pub”.

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, said:

“In the seven years since the smoking ban was introduced, more than a thousand pubs have gone bust with more closures on the way.

“A sensible compromise has been found in countries such as Holland where small owner-managed pubs can choose to be smoking or non-smoking, and larger premises are given the option of having separate, well-ventilated smoking rooms.

“At the very least the regulations should be amended to allow for outdoor smoking rooms that are warm and comfortable all year round.

“Our pub culture is one of the reasons why Ireland is still a great place to live and visit, despite the tough economic times. Pubs bring people together. They are places where friendships are made and people can enjoy a drink together in a sociable, responsible environment.

“With a change of government, let’s have a change of heart on the smoking ban and help save the Irish pub.”

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

“Smokers are voters too” says Forest Eireann

A smokers’ lobby group says the next government should relax the smoking ban and have greater respect for Ireland’s one million adult smokers.

Tobacco control policies should be amended so they “are fair for everyone, smokers and non-smokers alike”, said Forest Eireann.

Speaking at the launch of the group’s “smokers’ manifesto” in Cork, spokesman John Mallon said:

“There are one million smokers in Ireland, and smokers are voters too.

“The next government must review the way smokers are treated and devise policies that are fair for everyone, smokers and non-smokers alike.”
The smokers’ manifesto urges politicians to:

• respect the rights of adults who have made an informed choice to smoke tobacco in full knowledge of the health risks associated with this legal product

• acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of smokers are ordinary, decent, law-abiding adults whose habit does not affect their ability to make a positive contribution to Irish society

• relax the smoking ban so that pubs and bars can provide smoking rooms that allow adults to smoke in greater comfort without bothering non-smokers

• cut tobacco duty to tackle smuggling and reduce the temptation to buy tobacco abroad

• recognise the major financial contribution made by consumers who buy tobacco from legitimate retailers in Ireland

• review the use of public money to fund groups and quangos dedicated to persecuting adult smokers

• engage with the consumer so that one million smokers no longer feel ignored and disenfranchised from the political process

• treat one million voters with the respect they deserve

According to Forest Eireann:

“Ireland’s tobacco control policies have been a disaster.

“Since the smoking ban was introduced in 2004 more than 1000 pubs have closed. Many more have reduced their opening hours. Publicans have lost customers and bar workers have lost their jobs.

“Smokers are forced to stand outside or remain at home. Those hardest hit include the elderly, many of whom used to enjoy a drink and a smoke in their local bar. Now reports suggest that loneliness is a major cause of ill health, worse than lifelong smoking.

“Record levels of duty have forced the price of tobacco sky high. No wonder that nearly a third of smokers avoid buying tobacco, and paying Irish duty, in Irish shops.

“Government policy has created an enormous black market. Tobacco control? You’re kidding. Criminal gangs sell cigarettes to anyone, including children.”

Despite this record of failure, says Forest Eireann, tobacco control campaigners now want picture warnings on packets of cigarettes, a ban on smoking in private vehicles, bans on smoking in outdoor areas, and the denormalisation of smoking and adults who choose to smoke.

Calling for greater tolerance and common sense, John Mallon said:

“The anti-smoking movement has gone too far. Unwittingly, perhaps, some well-meaning campaigners are making many smokers’ lives a misery.

“We support restrictions on public smoking but to ban smoking in every bar without exemption was unnecessary and draconian. The tobacco display ban and proposals to introduce picture warnings on packets and ban smoking in private vehicles suggest a movement that doesn’t know when to stop.

“But our manifesto is not just about smoking. It’s about excessive government intervention in people’s daily lives, and that affects everybody, smokers and nonsmokers alike.

“What next? Will it be alcohol? Sweets? Crisps? Fizzy drinks?

“If people do not fight for their rights a host of other restrictions will surely follow.”

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Download the Smokers' Manifesto

Forest Eireann slams New York smoking ban

The smokers’ group Forest Eireann has criticised a decision by New York city council to ban smoking in the city’s parks, beaches and public squares.

Supporters of the new measures said it would help improve the health of New Yorkers and prevent non-smokers from having to breathe other people's tobacco smoke.

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, said: “It’s nonsense to suggest that non-smokers are at risk from people smoking in the open air.

“Banning smoking in parks and squares has nothing to do with the health of non-smokers. It’s designed to force people to quit smoking whatever the consequences for civil liberties.”
Mallon added that Forest Eireann would fight the imposition of similar regulations in Dublin and other Irish cities.

“It is completely unreasonable to ban smoking in all public places, indoors and out.
“Tobacco is a legal product and a huge proportion of what people spend on tobacco goes to the Exchequer. If the government wants our money we have to be allowed to smoke somewhere, and not just at home.

“We encourage people to smoke responsibly, but fining people if they light up outside is a step too far.

“Unfortunately anti-smoking zealots won’t be happy until smoking is outlawed completely. If that happens people will still smoke but in an uncontrolled environment and the main beneficiaries will be criminal gangs and the manufacturers of illicit cigarettes.”

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Forest Eireann welcomes tobacco display ban delay in Scotland

The smokers' group Forest Eireann has welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government that the introduction of a tobacco display ban in Scotland is being delayed from 1 October 2011 until further notice due to a legal appeal by Imperial Tobacco.

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, said:

"We welcome the announcement by the Scottish Government and hope that this marks the beginning of the end for tobacco display bans in the United Kingdom and even Ireland.

"Banning the display of tobacco in shops has done nothing to reduce smoking rates in Ireland.

"It's an act of commercial censorship designed to denormalise tobacco and stigmatise adults who choose to consume a perfectly legal product.

"The only people who have benefitted from the display ban are black marketeers and consumers who operate outside the law.

"After the election the new government must review Ireland's tobacco control strategy and revise existing policies so that they are fair for everyone, including retailers, publicans and consumers."

Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Budget: Forest Eireann calls for reduction in tobacco tax

A smokers' lobby group has called for a reduction of €1 on a packet of 20 cigarettes to counteract the sale of illicit tobacco and protect "the weakest in society" including children, the elderly and the unemployed.

In a pre-Budget letter to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, Forest Eireann wrote:

"Tobacco duty in Ireland is already at record levels and it is no coincidence that the country has been described as a tobacco smuggling blackspot. Any reasonable assessment of the impact of increasing tobacco tax above and beyond the existing level must conclude that a further increase will benefit only the smugglers, some of whom have been reported to use children as young as 12 to sell illicit cigarettes door to door, and as young as seven at open air markets.

"It makes economic sense to not only freeze the tax on tobacco for another year but to reduce the tax by €1 per packet of 20 cigarettes. This would not only encourage those who choose to smoke to purchase their tobacco via legal channels, it would also help maximise revenue to the Exchequer."

The group also urged the Government to consider the social harm that could result from a further increase in tobacco taxation.

"Excessive taxation on consumer goods hits the elderly and the less well-off harder than anyone. In a recession we believe it is immoral to penalise those who can least afford the increase that the tobacco control industry is demanding."

Forest Eireann dismissed a demand by Ash Ireland for an increase of €1 on a packet of 20 cigarettes in the budget. Spokesman John Mallon said:

"Evidence suggests that excessive taxation encourages smuggling and criminality, and that in turn leads to a loss in revenue and an increase in overall consumption because of the sheer volume of cheap tobacco that is available on the black market.

"Governments must protect the weakest in society and we believe that increasing the tax on tobacco will make children, the elderly and the unemployed more vulnerable to the smugglers and the criminal gangs.

"We hope that the Budget will reflect the economic and social reality and not the fool’s paradise that some tobacco control advocates would have us inhabit.

"The economic climate has changed dramatically and the country is forced to embrace a new reality. We hope that the Finance Minister will share our view that targeting smokers during a recession is social and economic madness."

Further comment

John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Download our Pre-Budget letter to the Finance Minister

Reduce tobacco taxation to maximise revenue, says smokers' group

The smokers' group Forest Eireann has welcomed comments by a Fine Gael Senator highlighting the negative effect of increasing tobacco taxation in Ireland.

Speaking in the Seanad on Wednesday Senator Eugene Regan declared that, "In successive budgets the price of cigarettes and tobacco was raised to double that in the rest of Europe. The problem in this regard is that, apart from not succeeding in reducing the level of consumption of tobacco, an extraordinary illegal trade has been created from which criminal gangs and dissident republicans are benefiting. If we continue down this route and do not reverse the flawed policy followed in successive budgets, we will have a major problem in law enforcement".

John Mallon, spokesman for the smokers' group Forest Eireann, said: "Senator Regan is a Senior Counsel and an economist so his comments must be taken seriously. Artificially inflating the price of any legal product to ridiculous levels inevitably leads to the consumer finding alternative channels of supply, including criminal gangs.

"But this is not just an issue of law enforcement. Any further increase in tobacco taxation must lead to a further fall in revenue as more and more consumers take advantage of black market cigarettes and tobacco.

"Customs & Excise has suggested that 25% of tobacco consumed in Ireland is smuggled. If you add all those cigarettes imported legally from mainland Europe, the loss of revenue must be enormous.

"On behalf of the Irish taxpayer, smokers and non-smokers alike, we urge the Government to do the economically sensible thing and reduce tobacco taxation in order to maximise revenue and reduce the prevalence of illicit or counterfeit tobacco in Ireland."

Further comment

John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245

Smoking ban to blame for decline of Irish pub, says new research

New research suggests that the smoking ban is the main cause of pub closures in Ireland.

Using data from the Revenue Commissioners, researchers found that the number of pub losses demonstrate a very close statistical relationship between the introduction of the smoking ban in 2004 and the rapid decline of the Irish pub.

This relationship, says the report, is considerably stronger than those that could be attributed to other factors such as the recession, alcohol duty or supermarket competition, although all of these are likely to have been contributing factors.

Analysis of statistics set out in the Statistical Report on the Revenue website showed that Ireland lost 1,097 pubs in the four years following the ban.

Researchers found a striking similarity between the rate of closures in Ireland following the ban, and those in Scotland, England and Wales following theirs – despite considerable differences between the pub traditions .

Four years after the smoking bans Ireland and Scotland had lost 11% and 11.1% of their pubs respectively. After almost three years (the latest period for which data are available) England and Wales are on almost exactly the same trend having lost 7.6% and 7.3%. In total 5,298 pubs had shut within three years, across the four countries.

According to the report by CR Consulting, commissioned by the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign in Britain, “While there is significant variation in the trajectories of pub closures before the ban, there is an almost total correlation between the four countries – Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England – after the ban.

“This indicates that they are affected by a strong common factor – the smoking ban. The correlation is in fact so close that the trend line for the four countries is almost identical.”

Oliver Griffiths, director of CR Consulting, said, “Some pubs were struggling before the ban but it had a sudden and marked impact, accelerating the rate of decline. While it is not the only factor in the closure of pubs, the smoking ban is demonstrably the most significant cause of pub closures in Britain and Ireland.”

John Mallon, spokesman Forest Eireann which represents smokers in Ireland, said,
“The smoking ban has had a devastating impact on Ireland’s pubs. Instead of enjoying what should be a good night out with their friends, many smokers are choosing to stay at home.

“For the sake of our pubs and our local communities, the Government must relax the regulations so people can light up in a warm and comfortable environment twelve months a year.

“Pubs need smokers. That’s a fact that ministers cannot and must not ignore any longer.”

Download report

Further comment

John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245
Simon Clark (Save Our Pubs & Clubs) +44 (0) 7774 781840
Oliver Griffiths (CR Consulting) +44 (0) 7710 178568

Smokers group defends Taoiseach

The smokers group Forest Eireann has defended Brian Cowen after the Taoiseach was seen smoking at Croke Park, a no-smoking stadium, on Sunday.

Spokesman John Mallon said, "Brian Cowen is just one of a million smokers in Ireland. What happened proves that we need to cater for smokers in public places.

"It is ridiculous that a stadium like Croke Park does not have easily accessible smoking areas where people, including the Taoiseach, can light up in comfort without inconveniencing non-smokers."

Further comment:
John Mallon - 085 219 3245