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Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Minister of State for Health Promotion and Minister Simon Harris, Minister for Health, met with representatives of ASH Ireland today.
At the meeting, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to implementing Government Policy on tobacco, Tobacco Free Ireland. “Given that approximately 5,870 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases in Ireland, we are committed to continuing to reduce the numbers of people smoking in Ireland,” said Minister Corcoran Kennedy. “Ireland has been a world leader in relation to tobacco control as well as in our support for public educational campaigns such as the HSE's influential QUIT Campaign. In place since June 2011, the QUIT campaign has prompted over 600,000 quit attempts and provided support to many thousands of quitters. This hugely successful campaign is complementary to the Government's policy of a Tobacco Free Ireland by 2025, a policy I look forward to further implementing during my time as Minister of State for Health Promotion.”
ASH Ireland and the Ministers discussed a number of issues including the future introduction of standardised packaging for tobacco, the recent introduction of the Tobacco Products Directive in Ireland, advertising and awareness campaigns and the role of the increased price of tobacco in deterring people from smoking.
“I look forward to working closely with ASH Ireland and other NGOs in our national effort to move towards a tobacco free Ireland,” said Minister Corcoran Kennedy.