Plain package cigarettes will not make smuggling easier, says Reilly

Forcing tobacco companies to use generic packaging will not make it easier for the illicit trade in counterfeit cigarettes to prosper, Health Minister James Reilly has insisted.

Ireland is to become the second country in the world after Australia to introduce plain packages for cigarettes.

Dr Reilly said yesterday that he got Government approval to introduce the new packs and hoped to have the legislation enacted next year.