Calling Europe - Tobacco industry threats

Just as China uses forceful means to suppress opposition the tobacco industry seems determined to ensure that it is allowed to continue to afflict generation after generation of addicts. This should not be surprising as billions are at stake.

The latest instalment in the campaign to stop Ireland introducing universal branding for tobacco products played out in Washington last week when 71 organisations signed a warning — threatening if you prefer — letter given to Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan.

The letter suggested all sorts of dire consequences but none of them compared to the deaths inflicted by the industry on those it ensnares. Last year more than 5,000 Irish people died because of smoking. According to the WHO tobacco-related illnesses cause 16% of deaths in Europe compared to 12% globally. The tobacco industry rightly regards Ireland as a small country that would struggle to find the resources to oppose it but these figures suggest that it is time to put this campaign on a European footing. After all a life free from tobacco is a human rights issue not a commercial one.