Legal action by tobacco firms could be a smokescreen

THE Government was last night urged to hold firm in the face of a constitutional challenge to tough anti smoking legislation launched by nine tobacco and related companies.

Chairman of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Dr Fenton Howell said the tobacco companies' legal action could be a stalling mechanism to postpone the introduction of hard hitting provisions in the Public Health and Tobacco Act which was signed in to law last month.

The act provides for a ban on instore advertising or cigarette displays and on the sale of 10 packs.