A cigarette could cost €1 by 2025 if the government adopts pre-budget recommendations from health charities.
The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) said it was proposing a price rise because smoking rates among young people “are on the rise”.
Chris Massey, director of advocacy and patient support at the national charity, said research had shown that increasing tobacco tax was the most effective way of reducing tobacco use.
After last year’s increase of 50 cents, the current price of a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category is EUR 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,” reports Breaking News.
ACCORDING TO BREAKING NEWS, the IHF wants the government to introduce proportionate increases in roll-your-own cigarettes to reduce the incentive to switch to a cheaper alternative.
In its statement ahead of Budget 2024, the charity also recommended increasing the price of e-cigarette liquid.
The IHF’s proposed tax of 10 cents per millilitre of e-liquid would increase the price of typically disposable e-cigarettes by 25 percent, or two euros per disposable e-cigarette, reports Breaking News.
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