Ban won’t stub out sales of cigarettes, say firms

THE imminent smoking ban may be sending a chill down the spines of tobacco fans but the country’s cigarette firms are breathing easy about the potential drag on their business.

On Monday, Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to outlaw smoking in pubs, restaurants and all enclosed workplaces, sparking controversy in a nation famous for its relaxed hospitality.

Publicans and restaurant owners have said the ban will damage Ireland's vibrant pub culture and result in thousands of lost jobs as customers stay at home.

The three companies responsible for manufacturing or distributing 98% of the six billion packets of cigarettes sold annually in Ireland say the ban is unlikely to affect them though they also oppose it, ostensibly on human rights grounds.

Deirdre Healy, corporate affairs manager at John Player & Sons, whose flagship kingsize cigarette is Ireland's best-selling smoke, said she expected the impact to be the equivalent of "a slap in the face from a butterfly's wings".

"We see little or no impact on our own trade time will tell, of course but obviously it's the hospitality industry that will bear the brunt," she said, a view echoed by her company's main competitors Gallahers (Ireland), and PJ Carroll & Co.

Consumers in Ireland, now one of the most expensive countries in the Eurozone, are already complaining about the cost of a night out, and the crackdown on smoking would be one more disincentive for many, Ms Healy said.

Tobacco companies believe smokers will smoke just as much as before, either by socialising more at home or by finding a way round the regulations.

Healy questioned how effectively authorities could police the ban and said the threat of fines of up to €3,000 for offenders would not push countryside pubs into enforcing it.

But anti-smoking groups such as Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) believe people will use the ban as a springboard to give up, pointing to a downward trend in tobacco consumption in recent years.

The percentage of Irish adults who smoke regularly has fallen to around 25% from 31% since 1998, according to Office of Tobacco Control figures, and demand has risen for nicotine replacement products.

ASH spokeswoman Valerie Coghlan said: "People that want to quit smoking are saying 'here's my chance I can't smoke in my workplace. I can't smoke in the pub or the restaurant, in cinemas or on aeroplanes', so lots of people are saying they see this as a help."