From: Herald.ie
By Fiona Dillon
THE Government has been warned that introducing plain packaging for cigarettes could end up making life easier for smugglers.
Northern Ireland MP Ian Paisley Jnr – and son of the outspoken Ian Paisley – also said that if the move was introduced in the Republic it would have a knock-on effect on the economy of the North, particularly for people employed by the big tobacco giants.
“While I applaud the Government’s objectives to reduce and prevent youth smoking, I believe there are many negative consequences to this measure,” he said in a letter to Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
“If plain packaging is introduced in the Republic of Ireland, there is every potential that this would have significant repercussions for the economy of Northern Ireland.”
Asked about his letter to the Minister, Ian Paisley MP last night told the Herald: “I don’t in anyway encourage the use of tobacco. I don’t smoke and I wouldn’t want any of my children to smoke.
TARGET
“If any of the proposals were backed up with any proof that it will reduce the number of people smoking I would support them.
“However, the only evidence we can go on is in Australia where plain packaging has been installed, the smoking rate has remained constant and the illicit market has gone through the roof.”
He claimed that plain packaging will make it easier to produce counterfeit cigarettes and added that “children are the prime target of the smuggler”.
