Hotel group halts sale of cigarettes  

Inua Hospitality CEO Sean O’Driscoll made his comments after the Radisson Blu and Spa hotel at Limerick was convicted and fined €400 for the sale by a hotel staff member of tobacco products to a 14-year-old girl.

The HSE prosecution arose from where the HSE employed the 14-year-old ‘secret shopper’ on the date to test the Radisson Blu Hotel's compliance with the sale of tobacco legislation.

One of the country’s largest hotel groups has confirmed that it has ceased selling cigarettes and tobacco products across its 11 hotels.

CEO of the Cork-headquartered Inua Hospitality, Sean O’Driscoll, today confirmed the move, stating that it is “due to less consumer demand and also the less stress on personnel regarding their duties and application of the sale of tobacco legislation”.

As part of the move, the hotel group has removed all cigarette vending machines from its hotel. Mr O’Driscoll added: “Given the reduction in the number of people smoking cigarettes, we feel it is no longer vital for hotels to sell cigarettes. This is based on guest feedback.” 

Mr O’Driscoll stated that the move also concerned the protection of its 1,300 employees.

Inua includes the Muckross Park in Killarney, the Kilkenny Hibernian, and Radisson hotels in Cork, Limerick, Athlone, and Sligo. Last year they recorded revenues of €78m and Mr O’Driscoll said that the move to halt the sale of cigarettes would not have any material financial impact.

Mr O’Driscoll made his comments after the Radisson Blu and Spa hotel at Limerick was convicted and fined €400 for the sale by a hotel staff member of tobacco products to a 14-year-old girl on May 20 last.

A guilty plea was made concerning the HSE prosecution which comprised of two summons against Mr O’Driscoll in his role as company nominee.

The HSE prosecution arose from where the HSE employed the 14-year-old ‘secret shopper’ on the date to test the hotel’s compliance with the sale of tobacco legislation.

The HSE withdrew a prosecution against the Radisson staff member who sold the teenager the cigarettes via a token for a cigarette vending machine. The court was told the young employee remains an employee of the hotel and was undergoing three weeks induction training at the time.

Solicitor for Inua Hospitality, Harry McCullagh, told a sitting of Ennis District Court that the HSE prosecution of the hotel for the sale of cigarettes to a minor “was the final straw” in the group’s decision to end the sale of cigarettes.

In court, Judge Mary Larkin praised Mr O’Driscoll’s move to end the selling of cigarettes across the hotels.

I can’t argue but that Mr O’Driscoll has dealt with it the right way and it is not going to be dealing or selling any cigarettes or matters upsetting people’s health,” she said. 

Mr O’Driscoll said today that the company implemented the no sale of cigarettes last October “and we have received no negative feedback from our guests”.

The sale of cigarettes remains big business nationally, however. The Revenue Commissioners confirmed on Wednesday that last year it received €1.16bn from excise duty receipts on tobacco sales and this followed €1.31bn received under the same heading in 2021.

The ‘black market’ for cigarettes continues and last year Revenue seized 51.61m contraband cigarettes with a value of €39.5m, an increase compared to the 48.2m contraband cigarettes seized in 2021, which had a value of €32.8m.