Smoking places a vast burden of illness and mortality on our society with over 5,200 people dying every year from tobacco-related diseases. One in two of all smokers will die from their addiction. Standardised packaging of tobacco products will remove all forms of branding, trademarks, logos and colours. The new packets will be presented with a uniform typeface for all brands and the packs will all come in one plain neutral colour. Ireland's standardised packages will have graphic images next to warnings developed by the European Commission for member states. Government policy in respect of smoking is to promote and move forward towards a tobacco-free society. Standardised packaging is one of several measures which will be implemented to reduce smoking in our society. Education, awareness, cessation services and extending the smoking ban to other areas are among the other measures that are being progressed.
As smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland, the control and regulation of tobacco products and tobacco use is a key public health objective. Standardised packaging will put tobacco products in drab unattractive packages devoid of branding other than names or promotional information. The proposals in the Bill form a suite of measures from the past, present and future designed to tackle tobacco consumption and the harm caused by smoking in Ireland.
Legislation for the introduction of standardised plain packaging for tobacco products is one of several recommendations set out in the Government tobacco control policy document, Towards a Tobacco Free Ireland, to assist in reducing the harm caused by tobacco use and ultimately achieving a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025 or a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5%. Following the introduction of plain packaging measures in Australia, the tobacco industry initiated several legal challenges at domestic and international level. It was claimed that it was unconstitutional for the Australian Government to remove trademarks from packages without compensation. In August 2012, however, the Australian High Court dismissed the case and awarded costs in favour of the Australian Government. Further challenges are pending, however, before the World Trade Organization and under the Australian-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment Treaty. None of these actions has been concluded. Following the introduction of standardised packaging in Australia, many smokers complained that the cigarettes tasted differently and the tobacco industry was forced to issue a statement denying that it had changed the ingredients.
I will outline some facts and figures on smoking. Smoking kills one in two users. Nicotine reaches the brain in seven seconds. The tobacco industry needs to recruit 50 new smokers every day simply to maintain current smoking rates. The year 2025 has been set as the target date for a tobacco-free Ireland. Tobacco smoke contains approximately 4,000 different chemicals, more than 70 of which can cause cancer. Each year, at least 5,200 people die in Ireland from tobacco-related diseases. Ireland's smoking prevalence rate is 21.5%. Some 78% of smokers started smoking before they reached the age of 18 years, while 53% started before they reached the age of 15 years. It costs approximately €1 billion per year to provide health services for smokers.
Smoking is the single most preventable cause of illness and death in Ireland. Smokers lose an average of between ten and 15 years from their life expectancy. The tobacco sector in Ireland accounts for approximately 5,500 jobs, generating approximately €1.4 billion in tax revenue per year. Measures introduced in recent years include the workplace smoking ban in 2004, the ban on the sale of cigarettes in ten packs and the sale of candy cigarettes in 2007, the ban on point-of-sale advertising in 2009 and the introduction of graphic warnings on tobacco packaging in 2013.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children set out a list of recommendations in respect of the Bill, including the banning of smoking in cars while children are present. This will come in under the Protection of Children's Health (Tobacco Smoke in Mechanically Propelled Vehicles) Bill which has already passed through the Seanad and is due to be introduced in the Dáil in the near future. This is only one of many recommendations we have.
