I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise the issue of the sale of cigarettes to underage children and the failure to enforce legislation. Eighty per cent of adult smokers were initiated into the habit of smoking by the age of 13 years. This startling statistic is the reason I raise this topic.
The Tobacco (Health Promotion and Protection) Act, 1988 prohibits the sale of tobacco products to any person under the age of 16 years whether for his own use or otherwise, and any person selling to a young person under 16 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500.
I raise this question as a study was conducted in Dublin to document the percentage of retail outlets which sell cigarettes to children and which display notices indicating that cigarettes will not be sold to children. All retail outlets were identified and visited by one of five 12 year old boys who attempted to purchase cigarettes. One hundred and nine out of 134 attempts, 81.3 per cent, were successful. In 28 or 20.9 per cent of attempts, the boys were challenged by the shopkeepers. However, in four of these attempts the purchase succeeded. Warning notices were displayed in only eight premises.
I welcome the fact that 20.9 per cent of the attempts by the boys were challenged by the shopkeepers. However, the conclusion of the study is that underage children can easily purchase cigarettes in Dublin. No prosecutions have ever been taken in the Dublin area for illegal sales of cigarettes to children. The law should be more vigorously implemented as part of an overall strategy to combat smoking among children because of the seriousness of the health risk.
A greater effort should be made by the Minister to ensure that more shops have a sign stating that cigarettes will not be sold to anyone under 16 years of age. By this means the seriousness of the situation gets more attention and it draws public opinion and shoppers' attention to the issues involved. I noticed on a visit to England recently that every shop where cigarettes are sold appeared to have a prominent sign on display stating this. I have to acknowledge the wide range of anti-smoking measures which the Department and the health promotion unit have been taking over the years. I welcome them and urge the Minister to pursue them.
We need to re-emphasise to young people, and particularly to young women, the dangers of smoking. The implementation of this legislation and attempts to take it more seriously should be an important part of that. Perhaps the Minister would answer the broader question of whether recent surveys have enabled him target young smokers effectively.
The Minister recently accepted a children's charter on the right to freedom from tobacco which was launched by ASH — Action on Smoking and Health — Ireland. This charter identifies children's rights not to be sold cigarettes, their right to be taught how to recognise and resist pressure to smoke, their right to clean air in the home, in school, in youth clubs and public places.
Smoking is a huge issue where responsibility to children is concerned. It is clear that by the age of 16 most of the decisions are made as to whether you are a smoker or not. Of the 55,000 young people who sit their leaving certificate, 18,000 are already confirmed smokers. If they continue to smoke, 5,000 are likely to die of smoking related diseases and many of the deaths will occur in middle age. That is just from one year's group of leaving certificate students.
Clearly there is a great deal of work to be done between the Departments of Health and Education. We must recognise that the consumption of tobacco is one of the greatest hazards to human health and that for the majority of smokers, smoking commences in childhood without full, informed consent. We must teach our children the impact of smoking on their health and wellbeing and how to recognise and resist pressure to smoke. Children should also be protected from any form of tobacco advertising.
The charter has been supported by the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Irish Heart Foundation and the Royal College of Surgeons, among others.
Smoking is at the top of the list of habits which have lethal consequences for health and has now been identified as one of the world's most serious health problems. We must develop preventative programmes aimed at supporting and developing children's self-confidence in dealing with peer pressure.
International advertising is targeting young smokers, particularly women. Global studies have shown that the inequality women experience in all societies is one of the determinants of tobacco use. Smoking is frequently connected to lack of self-esteem and anxiety about weight control. Women who die in middle age are those who have smoked since they were adolescent. As the current generation of young women who smoke grow older and continue to smoke, their burden of smoking-related diseases will grow larger. There is now emerging a creeping but silent epidemic of smoking-related illnesses in women. I hope that in the national plan for women's health, the Minister will address this. Young girls are smoking more and more. Women face specific gender related conditions, for example, cervical cancer, increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and early menopause. The effects of smoking during pregnancy are very severe. For these reasons I urge the Minister to take whatever action is necessary to ensure the legislation is enforced.
