Tobacco taxes play into the smugglers’ hands

THE recent announcement by the Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, that one in four cigarettes in Ireland is the result of illegal smuggling is hardly surprising.

When a packet here costs in excess of e8, whereas the same product can be bought in other EU countries for e1.30, you can understand why one-third of the population are voting with their feet.

The DPP bemoans a loss of e500 million a year to the Revenue Commissioners, but this is at odds with the Government’s policy of a “tobacco-free society”.

Surely, he should be striving for zero revenue from smoking.

Just as it is not a criminal offence to cross the border for the weekly shopping, it is also not illegal to take a cheap flight to any other EU country, buy six months’ supply in a shop (keeping the receipt for customs inspection) and then enjoy your day sightseeing.

It might deny the Irish taxman some hundreds of euro, but it’s legal and it makes sense.

It was mad enough to tax cigarettes so heavily in Ireland that we are now the most expensive in Europe, but the call for a further 25% increase (to e10/pack) is lunacy.

The law of diminishing returns suggests the tax-take will further decrease next year as more and more smokers in Ireland find ways to source their products in bulk at a vastly lower price.

Since the smoking ban, the number smoking is on the increase. This is a natural result of driving it underground.

But this does not take into account the thousands of people who are either buying abroad or “off the back of a lorry”.

I suggest that if the Government wishes to collect more tobacco taxes, they should lower the price here by 25% and then, maybe, smokers might return to the traditional outlets.

John Mallon

Shamrock Grove

Mayfield

Cork