Charity calls for price of single cigarette to increase to €1

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A single cigarette could cost €1 by 2025 if the Government adopts pre-Budget recommendations from a healthcare charity.

The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) said it was proposing the price increases because smoking rates in the young “are on the rise”.

Chris Macey, director of advocacy and patient support with the national charity, said studies show hikes in tobacco tax are the most effective way to reduce tobacco smoking levels.

After a 50c increase last year, the current cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category is €15.80.

Mr Macey said: “The Irish Heart Foundation is calling for a commitment from the Government to increase the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes to €20 by 2025.

“This would require a Budget increase of €2.10 for the next two years.

“When Ireland introduced the workplace smoking ban, other countries followed.

“But we have lost ground, and smoking rates in the young are on the rise.

“The biggest weapon the Government has to deter children from smoking is tax, but they’re not using it effectively.”

The IHF wants the Government to introduce a higher than pro-rata increase to roll-your-own cigarettes to reduce the incentive to switch to a cheaper alternative.

In its pre-Budget 2024 submission, the charity also recommended price hikes for electronic cigarette liquid.

A 10c per millilitre of e-liquid tax proposed by the IHF would typically increase the price of disposable e-cigarettes by 25 per cent, or two euros per single-use vape.

Mr Macey said: “Some people use vapes as a quit tool, and the increase we propose strikes a balance between a price which will deter children but won’t deter adults who are genuinely trying to quit.”

The charity said there are around 4,500 smoking deaths per year, and it called on the Government to drastically increase its investment in anti-smoking initiatives.

Mr Macey said smokers pay around €1.2 billion in additional tobacco taxes each year, adding that the charity wants the State to increase investment in anti-smoking campaigns from €15.7 million euros last year to €50 million.

He said: “The HSE advises that smokers are up to twice as likely to quit when they receive support from a trained adviser and up to four times more likely to stop if they also use stop smoking medication.”

The charity, which campaigns on public health issues for heart and stroke patients, is also calling for the introduction of a national heart failure registry, a five-year hypertension national awareness campaign, and a high-level review of taxation to incentivise a reduction of high amounts of fat, salt and sugar in food.