Tobacco.org

Mums-to-be cut ciggies  

The number of mothers who admit smoking during pregnancy has fallen by nearly 12%, according to a study at the Coombe hospital, Dublin.

The proportion dropped from just over 23% to just under 21%, less than the smoking rate in the general population, which was 27% last year, but still higher than in other countries. In Massachusetts, America, for example, only 7% of pregnant women admit to smoking.

"When you compare the rates of smoking in pregnant women who attended the Coombe before and after the [smoking in public] ban, it's a significant reduction," said Luke Clancy, director-general of the Tobacco Free Research Institute (TFI).

"We are not saying the ban necessarily caused it, but we hope it influenced them . . .

The survey was published in BJOG, an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology.

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• 800 million black market cigs smuggled in each year  

THE true number of cigarettes imported illegally into Ireland is more than 800 million a year, it is claimed.

Revenue and gardai seized a haul of 120 million cigarettes in Greenore, Co Louth, worth an estimated €50m this week.

Yet the average penalty for trading in illegal cigarettes -- €423-- is "farcical" and should be increased, a TD said.

"The Government must send a message to the middlemen who trade illegally in tobacco by imposing hefty fines," said Fine Gael justice spokesman, Charlie Flanagan.

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BASHAM/LUIK: Can the UK avert a smoking Irish failure?  

Hence, far from preventing smoking, measures like a display ban actually encourage it in those young people already most susceptible to begin smoking.

Therefore, in a UK with a tobacco display ban, we can expect to see not only more smokers, particularly young smokers, but also an enormous increase in illegal, unregulated, and untaxed cigarettes. That's quite the public health 'success'.

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Fines for tobacco smuggling ‘too weak’  

A FORMER British police chief has warned Ireland’s penalties for cigarette smuggling are too weak and encourage criminals to use Irish shores as drop-off points for major hauls.

The average fine handed to convicted cigarette smugglers this year is less than €500, according to figures obtained by the Irish Examiner yesterday.

Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan last night said those who sold illegal cigarettes should face increased fines of at least €10,000, as the state was haemorrhaging around €500 million a year in lost revenue.

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• Operation ‘Samhna’ : Potentially the largest seizure of cigarettes ever 

A multi agency operation, code named ‘Samhna’, headed up by Revenue’s Customs Service, is currently underway in Greenore Port, Co Louth, and surrounding area.

The operation, targeting the suspected criminal activities of an organised crime group operating both north and south of the border, involved the surveillance of a general cargo vessel M/V Anne Scan, which sailed from the Philippines on 15/09/2009 for Greenore Port, arriving at approximately 0600 hours on Monday, 26/10/2009, carrying a cargo declared as ‘animal feed’. Officers kept the vessel under surveillance, as they suspected that a large consignment of contraband cigarettes was concealed within the cargo.

Following the discharge of part of the cargo from the vessel earlier this morning onto awaiting trucks, which were allowed onwards to the importer’s premises, the multi agency task force, involving Officers of Revenues Customs Service and An Garda Siochana, moved in and raided several premises in the Co. Louth area, in addition to mounting an operation on the vessel itself. A large consignment of contraband cigarettes has been confirmed, estimated to be in excess of 120m cigarettes with a retail value of about €50m and a potential revenue at risk of approximately €40m. Several persons have been arrested at various locations by the Gardai for questioning.

The operation in the Republic of Ireland involved Officers of Revenue’s Customs Service, An Garda Siochana, The Criminal Assets Bureau, the Irish Naval Service and Air Corps and in Northern Ireland, Officers of HM Revenue & Customs and the PSNI. In addition the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which was also involved, will co-ordinate the international enquiries which will form part of the follow-up investigations. It is estimated that in excess of 150 Officers from the various Agencies participated in the field in today’s operation.

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• £45m cigarettes haul was first of five planned runs in audacious smuggling scheme  

The cargo ship seized with a record £45m of illegal cigarettes on board was on the first in a series of five planned voyages from the Philippines to Ireland, it can be revealed.

An audacious plan to land a total of £200m of cigarettes in multiple shipments at Greenore, Co Louth, was foiled when Customs officers seized the MV Anne Scan.

Nine men arrested as part of the Customs Service operation have now been released and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, gardai said last night.

Security sources said last night it was their belief the shipment was a maiden run in a planned series of up to five huge shipments from the Philippines of illegal cigarettes hidden in animal feed.

“The intention of this Irish gang, with others contributing funding in return for big profits, was to move a shipment every two months, we think to flood Ireland and the UK with cheap cigarettes and make big, big money,” said one senior officer.

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Nine freed in cigarette smuggling inquiry  

ALL NINE men who were arrested in connection with the seizure of tens of millions of cigarettes in Greenore Port, Co Louth, on Tuesday have been released.

A statement from the Garda Press Office last evening confirmed the release, and said a file was being prepared for the DPP.

The nine men include seven Irish nationals aged between 19 and mid-40s, one Lithuanian in his 50s and one Ukrainian in his 40s. They were held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at Garda stations in counties Louth and Monaghan.

Customs and Revenue officers yesterday began the painstaking task of stripping the vessel containing the haul, the MV Anne Scan, and counting what officials suspect amount to 120 million cigarettes, worth about €50 million.

The ship is a general cargo vessel some 80m in length which is German-owned but was chartered from the Philippines.

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Early introduction of ban does little to reduce smoking rates  

MORE PEOPLE continue to smoke in the Republic than in Northern Ireland, despite the earlier introduction of the smoking ban here, according to new research.

The One Island - One Lifestyle? report, which compares the health of individuals living on both sides of the Border, shows the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in the Republic in 2004 has done little to reduce overall smoking rates.

The study also reveals that despite having a reputation as a nation of drinkers, people in the South drink considerably less than their near neighbours.

The new report was produced by the division of Population Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) on behalf of the Department of Health and Children. It compares and contrasts two earlier studies, the Slán 2007 survey - carried out by a research consortium involving NUI Galway, the RCSI, the ESRI, and University College Cork - and the Northern Ireland Health and Social Wellbeing Survey (NIHSWS 2005), conducted by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

According to the study, the success of the Republic's smoking ban has primarily been in reduced risks from passive smoking rather than in achieving a fall in overall smoking rates.

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• Roll-ups burn a hole in cigarette sales  

Roll-ups are making a comeback, as recession-hit smokers switch from expensive cigarettes to cheaper hand-rolled tobacco.

Customs officials cleared 159,605kg of rolling tobacco for distribution in the first nine months of this year, a 38% increase on 2008. They attributed the surge to a rise in the use of roll-your-own tobacco by smokers striving to cut costs.

A survey published last week found that Irish people are smoking more than ever, with one third of the population still lighting up, the highest rate in 11 years.

Despite hikes in tobacco tax, the ban on smoking in the workplace and a law against shops displaying cigarettes for sale, the number of smokers has risen since 2007, when 29% of the population smoked, the EU’s Help campaign found.

A 25g pack of rolling tobacco costs €8.74 but, according to Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, a thrifty smoker could roll as many as 150 cigarettes from it. Twenty cigarettes cost €8.45, though a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice last week found that Ireland’s policy of setting a minimum price for tobacco products distorts competition.

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Northern Ireland | Millions of illegal cigs captured 

A massive cigarette-smuggling operation by a cross-border criminal gang has been smashed.

In what was described as the biggest seizure in the UK and Ireland, more than 120 million cigarettes were seized on a ship at Greenore, County Louth.

About 150 law enforcement officers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were involved in the operation.

Two men from County Armagh were among nine people arrested in County Louth. The cigarettes are worth 50m euros.

The ship had left the Philippines on 15 September carrying a cargo declared as animal feed. . . .

HM Revenue and Customs spokesman John Whiting said the operation targeted a suspected organised crime group operating on both sides of the Irish border

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• Smoking rate soars up to one third despite ban  

A THIRD of the Irish population now smokes, a new survey reveals.

A survey of 4,082 people this summer revealed that 33pc of the Irish population had taken up or continued to smoke.

It is the highest smoking rate recorded here in the past 11 years, according to the EU's 'HELP -- For A Life Without Tobacco' campaign.

Despite hikes in tobacco tax, the smoking ban and a new law against the public display of cigarettes for sale, the number of smokers has steadily risen since 2007 when 29pc of the population smoked.

The survey, which was conducted between March and September, revealed the largest group of smokers -- 45pc -- is aged between 16 and 30.

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• EU ruling 'will spark cigarette price war'  

A NEW court ruling could spark a price war on cigarettes in Ireland with disastrous effects for people's health, anti-smoking group Ash Ireland has warned.

The European Court of Justice yesterday declared that Ireland cannot set minimum prices for tobacco because it distorts competition and benefits manufacturers.

Although this is an interim opinion, it could open the way for cigarette sellers to start discounting heavily on price, which could lead to more young people taking up the habit and reducing the incentive to quit, said Dr Angie Brown of Ash.

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EU ruling on Irish tobacco prices 

The European Court of Justice has declared that Ireland can not set minimum prices for tobacco products since it distorts competition and benefits manufacturers.

The declaration came in the form of an opinion by the court's Advocate General. In 80% of cases the opinion is in line with the final judgement.

In December 2006 the European Commission wrote to the Irish Government saying that the policy of setting minimum retail prices for cigarettes was contrary to EU law since it limited the freedom of producers and manufacturers to determine their selling prices.

When Ireland failed to legislate for the relevant EU directive the Commission took Ireland to the European Court of Justice in May 2008.

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• Cigarette pricing rule a 'risk' to free competition 

THE POLICY of setting a minimum price on tobacco products distorts competition, a preliminary opinion to Europe's highest court has said.

The imposition by the Government of binding prices restricts manufacturers' freedom to set prices, thereby posing a risk to free competition, according to Juliane Kokott, advocate general of the European Court of Justice.

The opinion of the advocate general is not a final judgment, although the court, to follow next March, follows it in the vast majority of cases. Costs in the case were awarded against Ireland.

The Department of Health said it was examining the opinion. "This opinion is at an intermediate stage in the process and the judgment of the court is still awaited," a spokeswoman said.

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Tobacco prices distort competition  

Ireland's policy of setting a minimum price on tobacco products distorts competition, a legal advisor to Europe's highest court has said.

In the case of Commission of the European Communities versus Ireland, the Advocate General said binding prices restricted manufacturers' freedom to set prices, thereby posing a risk to free competition.

The opinion of the Advocate General is not a final judgement, although the court generally follows it 80 per cent of the time. . . .

In his legal assessment of the arguments the Advocate General said “increases in excise duties are therefore a less intrusive measure than minimum prices, which are thus not necessary”.

A statement issued by cigarette company John Player & Sons today said “while we don’t oppose the Commission’s view that tobacco manufacturers should have the freedom to determine retail prices for their products, the fact remains that the real minimum price for 20 cigarettes in Ireland is the street price of €4 - €5 euro due to widespread illegal cigarette selling.

This greatly incentivises criminals by giving them huge margins while denying Government badly needed revenues. 1 in 4 cigarettes smoked in Ireland today is not even bought in an Irish shop”.

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