Tobacco industry’s cynical exercise fails

THE decision by the tobacco industry and others to abandon their challenge at the last minute to legislation that would enable the minister for health to ban advertising of tobacco products at point of sale underscores the cynicism of this industry.

It is now clear the industry knew all along that this legislation was sound. What their ‘challenge’ succeeded in doing was to force officials from the Department of Health and Children and the Office of Tobacco Control to expend a huge amount of energy and time over the last three years in preparing a robust defence of the legislation, rather than implementing it.

This allowed the industry to continue to market their deadly products for a further three years. It is also clear from the resources used by the tobacco industry in their ‘challenge’ that they hoped to bully the Government into backing down. Fortunately for all of us, the Government has prevailed.

It is now incumbent on the Government to send a clear signal to the tobacco industry and its associates in the retail sector that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable. This can be done by ensuring that resources are made available rapidly to implement the remaining sections of the legislation.

Such action will not only punish a disreputable industry but, more importantly, it will save lives.

Dr Fenton Howell

St Mary’s Villas

Drogheda

Co Louth.