Cigarette price hike slammed

NORTHSIDE shopkeeper and spokesperson for Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) Benny Gilsenan has slammed last week’s budget measure that slapped 40c on a pack of cigarettes.

The hike brought the price of most packs to over

?¬10 and retailers say it’ll lead to a surge in the sale of black market smokes and have a severely negative effect on independent retailers who depend on cigarette sales.

“It’s absolutely crazy that the Government has decided to hike up the price of 20 cigarettes to

?¬10 at a time when the black market is still a major problem for retailers,

? said Gilsenan who owns Benny’s store on Emmet Street, opposite Croke Park.

“It beggars belief that they are raising the price of a legal product up to

?¬10 when illegal cigarettes are openly available for purchase on streets across the country. This is a real slap in the face for legitimate small businesses that have had to deal with this problem since the recession started and who continued to pay their taxes throughout the bad times.

“Like it or not, our businesses rely on cigarette sales.

?

Gilsenan also said it was

“a certainty

? that RAS members would be laying off staff as a result of the 40 cent increase as fewer customers would come into their stores.

“This will lead to a lower tax take for the Government as more people buy their cigarettes from the black market,

? he added.

“It seems that the only people who will benefit from this crazy decision are the criminals.

?
Smokers’ lobby group Forest Ã?ireann also slammed the price hike describing it as

“daylight robbery

?.

“It discriminates against the elderly, the low paid and the unemployed,

? said spokesperson John Mallon.

“It also discriminates against law-abiding smokers who have resisted the very strong temptation to buy cigarettes on the black market.

“It will encourage even more consumers to turn their backs on legitimate retailers. The only people who will benefit are the criminal gangs selling cigarettes at half the legal price.

?
However, the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) welcomed the price increase and rubbished claims it would lead to an increase in illegal cigarette sales.

“The tobacco industry will claim the extra tax will fuel smuggling, but the fact is they’ve been overestimating the illicit trade for years to deter the Government from increasing tax and then hiking their own prices,

? said IHF Head of Advocacy, Chris Macey.

“Revenue Commissioners’ research shows the smuggling rate here has fallen from 15 per cent to 11 per cent over the last three years.

?