National archives 1985: Carroll Industries threat to pull £50m investment

One of the country’s main tobacco manufacturers threatened the coalition in 1986 with cancelling a £50m investment plan if the Government pressed ahead with new anti-smoking laws.

Carroll Industries warned Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald it could no longer contemplate investment “outside the tobacco business” as a result of what it claimed was unilateral action by health minister Barry Desmond.

In a letter to Dr FitzGerald in January 1986, the firm’s managing director, Dan Carroll, said the proposed legislation would have “extraordinarily serious implications”.

The Fine Gael/Labour Government was seeking to introduce revised tobacco regulations governing the advertising, sponsorship, and sale of cigarettes.

Carroll’s said its plans to invest £50m in other industries could only go ahead against “a background of stability of profits derived from tobacco trading in Ireland”.

Mr Desmond also proposed a new tobacco bill which would ban smoking in designated places and facilities used by the public, including short-haul public transport as well as restricting the sale of tobacco to children under 16 years.

John Bruton, the then minister for industry, trade, commerce, and tourism, expressed reservations about the levy on the basis there was no evidence available from other countries to suggest such a measure was successful.

He also argued that “paternalistic legislation of this kind may not be suited to Irish circumstances” and would be unenforceable.

Mr Desmond replied there was nothing paternalistic about legislation aimed at reducing the type of human misery caused by smoking.