Anti-smoking lobby set for clash with unions

THE anti-smoking lobby is on a collision course with trade unions and the country’s statisticians over proposals to reform the way cigarette price rises are measured.

ASH Ireland wants the Government to exclude rises in the price of a packet of cigarettes when calculating the official inflation rate. This will allow the Government to hike up prices without affecting the rate of inflation — which is one of Europe’s highest at 5%.

Removing the cost of cigarettes would also help lower the existing rate.

However, the campaign group appears to be on a collision course with the unions, who have previously said the existing way of calculating inflation should be used in determining pay rates as tobacco is still a cost to their members.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), which compiles the official inflation rate, said it was legally bound to incorporate tobacco in the inflation index as some consumers spend a significant portion of their income on the product.

However, yesterday ASH Ireland chairman Professor Luke Clancy said a tobacco-free inflation rate would bring far-reaching benefits to union members as well as society, in general, as increased prices reduce consumption and improve health and wellbeing.

“Trade unions recognise that tobacco is a huge cause of health inequalities, kills thousands of their members and affects their ability to earn money.

“Many people represented by unions are blue-collar workers who are among those who suffer greatest because of tobacco,” he said.

Yesterday, ASH Ireland staged a seminar in Dublin on taxation, health and tobacco and called for the inflation rate to be reformed.

Addressing delegates — including Chief Whip Tom Kitt — Mr Clancy said extra taxes raised by tobacco should be used to help the poorest in society.

“Money from the rise in tobacco tax should be used to make life better and be spent in areas like public transport and childcare,” he said.

“We also have poor smoking-cessation services in this country and money should be used on improving these as 80% of smokers want to stop but don’t because they can’t get help.”

Last year, Finance Minister Brian Cowen signalled future rises in tobacco prices and said it would be “helpful” if the social partners agreed to base pay rises on an inflation rate minus some or all of his tobacco tax hikes.

Yesterday, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) said such a motion would be discussed at its major policy conference in July.

Ictu said that the Government and social partners would have to find an “imaginative” way of pay-bargaining using the new inflation rate so workers’ incomes were not affected.

Ictu spokesman Macdara Doyle said he expected plenty of debate at the conference, which will decide if the organisation will agree to support reform of inflation rate caculation.