Ireland should raise the legal age of smoking from 18 to 21 as part of a bid to save the lives of young people, a TD insisted yesterday.
The call from Fine Gael’s Pat Deering comes after a similar move in the US, where lawmakers have voted to make the move next year.
Nearly 6,000 people die each year in Ireland from smoking-related illnesses.
Deputy Deering said more must be done to prevent young people becoming addicted.
The Carlow-Kilkenny TD told the Irish Mirror: “I see more and more young people smoking, coming out of secondary schools, smoking. Once they get hooked at that stage it’s very hard to get off the tobacco.
“I think once they’re that bit older, they’ll have lived for a bit longer and seen the negative effects of tobacco on people’s lives.”
Mr Deering said Ireland must have a national conversation about the harmful effects of smoking.
He added: “These deaths can be prevented and the damage that can be done at an early stage stays with you for a lifetime.”
The TD dismissed concerns an increase in age would lead to a rise in the number of young people buying cigarettes on the black market.
He said: “There is always that fear, and it would be there every year, as the price of cigarettes has gone up in recent Budgets on a regular basis.”
It now costs €13.50 for a packet for 20 ciggies.
Mr Deering added: “You’ll see in America this discussion has taken place and some states are going down the road now of increasing the age from 18 to 21.
"And I think we need to start that discussion now in Ireland. We need to have an open and honest discussion about it.
“I think there’s potential for a huge win-win for everybody here – for the State and for society and for health-related issues going forward. We have to start this discussion in schools and I think Transition Year is an ideal place where that can be done.”
The number of people who smoke in Ireland has dropped significantly in the past five years, according to the 2019 Healthy Ireland survey from the Department of Health.
The percentage of the population that smokes dropped from 23% in 2015 to 17% in 2019.
