‘Tobacco should only be available on prescription’

CIGARETTES and tobacco should be available only on prescription, while nicotine replacement therapies should be free of charge to tobacco addicts, according to Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle.

Despite several member states following Ireland’s lead and banning smoking in public places, the tobacco industry is successfully delaying other countries from doing so, Ms Doyle told the European Parliament.

This is similar to allowing mosquitoes dictate policy on fighting malaria, she said, given that tobacco use is the leading, preventable cause of death globally.