Cigarette sales plummet in Ireland

Irish cigarette sales have fallen overall by 16 per cent in the first six months of the year, according to Revenue Commissioner figures.

The findings were based on the clearance of tobacco stamps with the Revenue revealing a 45 per cent drop in January, when most people try to give up, and a 25 per cent drop in March when the Irish smoking ban was introduced.

The stamps appear on cigarette boxes and are not the same as sales but are considered a good indicator and the drop is expected to lead to a loss of 59 million euros for the government.

The Office of Tobacco Control has recently calculated that the number of people smoking in the country is also in decline and that only 24.5 per cent now consider themselves smokers.

Licensees in Ireland have rebelled against the smoking ban after claiming it has severely damaged trade.

After an initial month of sustained business in April, the novelty factor of the ban has worn off and licensees now say takings are down at least 15 per cent and in some cases by as much as 50 per cent.

In the last week at least three pubs disobeyed the law, which was introduced on March 29, and while the threat of High Court action forced licensees to back down and close, their actions emphasised the strength of feeling.

The highest profile case was Fibber Magee's pub in Galway, where owner Ronan Lawless is still planning to mount a legal battle against the ban.

Mr Lawless said: "Soon there will be a lot more places defying the ban. Our backs were against the wall and we were going to be out of business within months."