There are some days when you just cannot get your head around what the media states is happening – today is one of them! Sales in Eire slumped again last year by about 4.1% – the fifth year in a row. Experts point to a rise in smuggling and smokers puffing less. So, at long last they have accepted that smuggling is a major government-created situation which is affecting the nation’s coffers – well, hellelujah to that!
Professor Luke Clancy has estimated, ” that 14pc of cigarettes smoked in Ireland were bought in other EU countries, whereas smuggled cigarettes accounted for between 2pc and 4pc”.
So now it is RyanAir’s fault as people are paying £14 to fly hither and thither to bring in duty free fags by the bucketful – and why shouldn’t they? Why should they pay the ridiculous prices that government demand just to satiate their avaricious treasury demands?
The amazing thing is that Eire has seen a 2% rise in smoker prevalence since the smoking ban was introduced. Internal sales have slumped by 4.1%, yet a 2% rise has seen “smokers puffing less!”
Is that double Irish or double Dutch?