Herbal cigarettes ban 'cheap PR stunt'

The Irish Cigarette Machine Operators Association (ICMOA) has slammed the Irish Pharmaceutical Union for its decision to urge pharmacies to stop selling herbal cigarettes.

Members of the ICMOA plan to stock their vending machines with a range of herbal cigarettes, which the public are allowed to smoke in pubs as they are exempt from the Minister's smoking ban.

Commenting on this, Gerry Lawlor, spokesperson for the ICMOA, said: "This decision by the Irish Pharmaceutical Union is pure hypocrisy. Every day across Ireland pharmacies sell smoking cessation products that contain nicotine, the addictive part of cigarettes."

The ICMOA was formed to represent primarily family-run businesses that provide vending machines to licensed premises in Ireland.

The association was founded in 1982 and now has more than 120 member companies, whose sole or primary source of income is the cigarette vending business.

Its membership represents over 90% of the cigarette-vending sector.