Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 29 Sep 1999

Vol. 508 No. 1

Written Answers. - Tobacco Advertising.

Alan Shatter

Ceist:

488 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the expenditure on tobacco advertising approved under paragraphs 19 and 21 of the Tobacco Products Regulations, 1991, in respect of each year to 31 December 1996; the names of the applicable companies or persons; if he will provide the same information for each of the years from 1997 to date pursuant to the new paragraphs 19 and 21 which became operative as and from the 1 January 1997; whether the actual declared expenditure of each tobacco company for each of the relevant approved years equalled, exceeded or was less than the expenditure originally approved; and the reductions, if any, he has required individual tobacco companies to make in their annual advertising expenditure. [17850/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen):

The approved expenditure on tobacco advertising for the years 1991 to 1996 was as follows:

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Carrolls	2.652	2.747	2.812	2.855	2.921	2.841
Gallaghers	3.130	3.241	3.318	3.368	3.447	3.352
Players	1.645	1.703	1.744	1.770	1.812	1.762
P. Morris	0.026	0.027	0.028	0.028	0.029	0.027
TDL	0.011	0.012	0.013	0.013	0.013	0.013

The maximum allowable expenditure for years 1997 to 1999 was as follows.

	1997	1998	1999
	£m	£m	£m
Carrolls	2.744	2.649	2.569
Gallaghers	3.238	3.126	3.032
Players	1.702	1.643	1.593
P. Morris	0.027	0.026	0.025
TDL	0.012	0.012	0.012

From the data supplied the declared expenditure by companies in each of the years referred to, except for one company P.J. Carrolls in 1992, was less than the approved expenditure.

With regard to reductions in expenditure on advertising since 1996 it is policy to cut the approved advertising and sponsorship budgets for tobacco companies by a figure of 5 per cent each year with an allowance for inflation.