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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 1 Jul 1999

Vol. 507 No. 4

Written Answers. - Sale of Cigarettes.

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

156 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the measures, if any, he is taking to combat the sale of cigarettes to persons under the legal age; if he has satisfied himself that there is adequate monitoring of the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15396/99]

The Tobacco (Health Promotion and Protection) Act, 1988, prohibits the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 16 years.

The retail organisations are aware of the prohibition on sale of cigarettes to minors and campaigns to highlight this area have been carried out by my Department in recent years. The health boards are the enforcing authority and a number of successful prosecutions were brought last year against retailers for sales of tobacco products to underage persons. Additional resources were provided to health boards this year to help improve compliance in this area.

Promoting a tobacco free society is a priority for myself and my Department. I am currently conducting a fundamental review on smoking and health policy. When this is completed I will bring forward proposals for further measures to protect children. I will be looking in particular at the area of enforcement given the reported prevalence of smoking among school children.

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