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THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD raise the price of a packet of cigarettes in the next six Budgets to €20 a pack by 2025 as part of a “dynamic” approach to reducing smoking rates in Ireland, the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) has said.
According to the IHF, around 20% of people in Ireland over the age of 16 – around 800,000 people – are current smokers. Department of Health figures also suggest the number of adults smoking in Ireland has declined by around 80,000 in the past few years.
In its pre-Budget submission to the government, the IHF said that raising the price of cigarettes to this level along with quadrupling funding for quit smoking services would help the government achieve its goal of fewer than 5% of the population smoking by 2025.
A packet of 20 cigarettes costs roughly €13, and raising this by around €1.17 a pack in the next six Budgets would mean the price of a pack would reach €20.
In the most recent Budget, the government increased the price of a packet of cigarettes by 50c.
A poll by Amarách Research for Claire Byrne Live at the time found that most people wanted the cost of cigarettes to be increased by €5, with the extra money to be ring-fenced to fund cancer treatments.
The government’s plan for 5% of the adult population to be smokers by 2025 was mooted by then-Health Minister James Reilly as far back as 2013. Minister Simon Harris has also expressed the desire for smoking rates to continue declining, saying: “We must continue to prioritise and enhance the supports and encouragement people need to quit smoking once and for all.”
The IHF said even higher price increases have been imposed in Australia, with the price hiking by around 75% since 2012.
It argued that while it would help to reduce the effect of tobacco on the nation’s health, there is also a strong economic case for greater investment in quit services as it would reduce the need for people to be treated with tobacco-related illnesses.
Its head of advocacy Chris Macey said: “Evidence shows that tax increases are the most effective way of reducing smoking rates. A dual approach that combines this with improved support for the vast majority of smokers who want to quit is vital if the Government is serious about hitting this target.
There is conclusive evidence that ad campaigns and support services, such as cessation clinics, quitlines and medications can significantly increase a smoker’s motivation to quit and then their chances of kicking the habit for good.
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They hire the 130 staff in order to automate the jobs of 1000s of staff. Then once the 130 have their jobs mostly done they can outsource maintenance of the system they created to some crowd in India and send the 130 home as well.
Eventually it will be just Mr. BOI laying in a hammock between two palm trees on the beach in the Bahamas with a cocktail in one hand and his phone in the other watching his bank balance steadily increase.
Fees will remain as high as ever if not higher, if you need to talk to a human to do something it will be nigh on impossible.
@Quiet Goer: they have moved to electronic forms with no need to be in branch to open an account and those hires will be to push on with the electronic stuff, has really sped along the old paper process
@Quiet Goer: withdrawal syndrome eh!
@Quiet Goer: Mr BOI and Hans Gruber must be going to the same beach……20% rates, I hear.
They close every outlet in the country yet. To contact them you need an email address. But if you owe them money they ring you on a private number.
They could do with a few people on their Mortgages phone line too. Just spent 24 mins on hold to get through to them. Funny enough, when you select the option for a new mortgage, you’re put through to someone straight away.
Outsourcing wasn’t as good as they thought it would be I guess! Given that they laid off or outsourced the vast majority of IT staff in the last decade.
@Melissa OHara: was it not just IT infrastructure and support that was outsourced. App development may still be in house.
Please please keep some humans… Online does not replace the need to talk and be heard and understood…. No Bot can do that with any degree of satisfaction….
@Jackie Healy:
Since when is a bank a psychiatrist?
The government is a major share holder in BOI and has not brought them to heal in any of their restructuring policies. Obviously big business owns the government and its cronies.
@Seán Dillon: Gov in the minority with 12%. On the sidelines waiting to cash out.
%14 oops
@Seán Dillon:
The bank is slowing healing from 2008 upset.
A few more years after full recovery, hopefully there will be a punter around to take that 14% off the Government’s hands at a decent price.
Off loading the larger chunks of equity held in the other two will take a fair while longer.
They have how many I T specialists in k b c . That they are taking over.
Surely that would be the best option for them
@Shay Flynn: not taking over kbc just buying the loan book arent they
Just pretend you’re buying something and you’ll get a human response pronto. I phoned BOI finance and got a name and number of a Regional Manager and my outstanding issue was resolved. Before that I did a tour of India or somewhere and the employees had no overview or authority to deal with a very small correction to my address . It was small but meant post was going elsewhere. They changed their system very shortly after I pointed out my comedy of errors.
Oh My God ! … I spoke to a real person ! What ? When did this happen ? That’s not supposed to happen ! I will report it immediately ! Some Bot is not functioning correctly .
I don’t think anyone in the comments section here gets it. Banking is changing, everything is going digital. If the legacy Banking system can’t convert they are done. BoI have failed in their attempts to modernize and compete with the new banking paradigm – I’m talking about Revolut etc. – now they need to take a less tentative conservative approach, otherwise they are bust. This is not just about profit margins, it’s about survival.
@mcmonkeys1: I was puzzled by the reference to cheques. Who uses cheques anymore?
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