cigarettes + 75 cents,

[thedaddyman]

What was disappointing was that they did not follow the UK and New Zealand model of raising the legal age for buying cigarettes as well. No argument that there is a smuggling issue but that in itself is not a reason not to raise taxes.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Vaping needs to be tackled now, so it’s good to see that it’s being targeted. It’s great as a step-down product, but the problem is that younger people, particularly girls, are vaping in sizeable numbers.

When I was in school, there used to be a smoke haze on the platforms at the Dart station when going home from school. My son gets the LUAS and says that no one smokes.

Vaping is what teenagers do these days. Smoking cigarettes is expensive and your clothes and breath smells. Easier for teenagers to get caught and in trouble. Vapes are just as dangerous. Teenagers need to be priced out of starting in the first place.

I asked a teenager recently how many of her friends smoke and she looked at me as if I had two heads. What sort of a stupid question was that? None of them smoked. She would have had no reason to lie to me. But I suspect it's groups. She probably hangs around with people who don't smoke. If you did your survey during lunch-time along the Dodder behind Marian College, you would concluded that 100% of teenagers smoke.

That's what I see with my kids and their friends. My son is 15 and none of his friends vape. But there are other groups in his year where most of them do, even those who are really into sport. Peer pressure is the biggest influence on whether kids start or not. You can threaten to take away their phone if they start, but if their friends start, there's a much bigger chance that they'll start too.

 

[Leo]

NZ are in a position that the nearest low price country for them is many thousands of km away and not cheap to get to.

They still have lots of flights landing every day and don't seem to be flooded with cigarettes. I don't see 75c or even a couple of Euro triggering any surge here. Sure people travelling anyway might buy some, but it's already a lot cheaper to do so now so I don't foresee a flood. If there is one though, hopefully Revenue will make a few bob with more checks for arrivals exceeding the limits.