The chair of the sub-committee for the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Bill has highlighted the importance of assisting retailers with the proposed change. During the plain packaging debate yesterday evening, Jerry Buttimer of Fine Gael appealed to the rest of the committee to assist retailers, and to see what they could do to avoid job losses within the retail industry.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs James Reilly also responded to the legal threats from JTI Ireland during the debate yesterday by saying that, “The threat of legal challenges should not be enough to keep the government from protecting public health.”
Minister Reilly argued that evidence from Australia shows that plain packaging works, and that, “misrepresentation by the tobacco industry is a well known and frequently used tactic”. He added, “Not one person involved in the Bill is a bit surprised at these tactics.”
The committee also discussed the increased use of e-cigarettes by consumers, something which Minister Reilly said he was “keen to have regulated”, and to see, “sold only out of a pharmacy under a pharmacist’s care”.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Hannah Popham.
