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Sam Boal

'Deeply misleading': Howlin clarifies his opposition to Big Tobacco following report

The Labour leader reportedly wrote to the Finance Minister asking if it was appropriate his officials had refused to meet with tobacco industry representatives.

LABOUR LEADER BRENDAN Howlin has reiterated “his strong opposition” to tobacco in response to reports that he was pushing for Big Tobacco representatives to be permitted to meet with Irish government officials.

Ireland refrains from meeting with tobacco companies, a practice which is endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The front page of today’s Sunday Business Post carries a story under the headline: “Labour leader pushes government access for Big Tobacco firms”

The piece reports how representatives of two tobacco companies wanted to meet with government officials to discuss anti-smoking policies. It goes on to say that Howlin wrote to Minister for Finance Pashcal Donohoe to ask if it was “appropriate” for department officials to “blankly refuse” to meet with the industries that it is regulating.

In response to the Sunday Business Post report, Howlin reiterated “his strong opposition to tobacco and the cigarette industry, and the damage it wrecks on millions of lives”.

Howlin said that he’s opposed tobacco since his time as a Minister in the Department of Health. He called the headline “deeply misleading” and said that “Labour fully supports the strong regulation of tobacco”.

Explaining further, he said:

The central point I made was that strong and effective regulation may require officials to meet with the industries they are regulating, just as Revenue officials meet them to collect excise and tobacco duty.
For example, new EU rules on labelling tobacco shipments down to pallet-level in factories and warehouses may require officials to meet with industrialists to ensure this regulation is correctly applied and enforced.

“That is very different from Ministers meeting with tobacco lobbyists,” he said.

”I am an advocate for openness and transparency in our democracy. The lobbying law I introduced ensures that any and all meetings must be recorded and reported. That was the basis of my communication, as officials meeting tobacco companies, even to enforce regulation, should ensure that these meetings are registered on the lobbyist register.

“I want to reassure all health advocates and charities working to protect and save lives from smoking and cancer, that the Labour party will continue to champion this issue and advocate for the tightest possible regulation of this damaging industry.”

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    Mute Willy Mc Caul
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:09 PM

    Deeply Misleading…
    Liebour are funny :-)

    200
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    Mute Willy Mc Caul
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:10 PM

    @Willy Mc Caul: Forgotten, but funny…

    101
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    Mute Dot Com
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    Feb 10th 2019, 9:24 PM

    @Willy Mc Caul:
    Labour Founded in 1912 by Larkin and Connolly, Destroyed by Howlin and Burton in 2016.

    49
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    Mute Gisbert Bayertz
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:32 PM

    He’s completely irrelevant

    158
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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:13 PM

    Labour party and “transparency “Haha,labour were not very good at keeping minutes in meetings when in government 2011-16,their hypocrisy since the public removed them is the biggest joke in politics.

    194
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    Mute Martin Meyler
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:45 PM

    So the former minister for health is unaware that WHO endorses the (absolutely correct) policy of non-communication with the cancer vendors. Funny that.

    87
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    Mute Barry O Toole
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:13 PM

    Put the shovel down brendan

    144
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    Mute Michael Reilly
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:50 PM

    @Barry O Toole: He has a “smoking gun” in his hand.

    42
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    Mute Barry O Toole
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    Feb 10th 2019, 4:19 PM

    @Michael Reilly: labour are a trainwreck they are destroying themselves

    58
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    Mute Robbie Redmond
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:32 PM

    Typical slieveen antics from a dead in the water party

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    Mute BAAB
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    Feb 10th 2019, 3:11 PM

    The government takes in billions of Euros in revenue from the sale of alcohol and tobacco.
    And all it costs them in return is the cost of a few auld Xmas cards.

    49
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    Mute Shayne O'Donoghue
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    Feb 10th 2019, 5:29 PM

    Sure It’s just the sort of thing you say when high on power..

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    Mute Josh Hanners
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    Feb 10th 2019, 7:00 PM

    Would anyone expect anything else from a politician?

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    Mute Mick Barnier
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    Feb 10th 2019, 6:34 PM

    pull the other one and stop dragging the honourable profession into a haze of smoke with mirrors

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    Mute paul dunne
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    Feb 10th 2019, 9:19 PM

    smoking stunts your growth is that what happened to him.

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    Mute Jams O' Donnell
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    Feb 10th 2019, 5:49 PM

    Seriously. Every working person should be voting Labour. The civil war is well over.

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    Mute Liam O Connor
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    Feb 10th 2019, 6:28 PM

    @Jams O’ Donnell: what substance are you on ???

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    Mute Martin Meyler
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    Feb 10th 2019, 8:34 PM

    @Jams O’ Donnell: you’re absolutely correct. If it was actually a socialist party, I’d agree completely. However anyone wishing for an actual left-wing non-baseball-bat wielding political party has been poorly served in this country. And Labour have let us down once too often. Their present status as a boil on the backside of the body politic is well deserved.

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    Mute JesusMoreBullshit
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    Feb 10th 2019, 11:57 PM

    My dad is dying because of tobacco all tobacco needs to be abolished. If tobacco was only discovered now it would be automatically banned as an illegal drug. Absolutely criminal these tobacco companies are . Anyone working for them or selling cigs should be ashamed of themselves.

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    Mute Ger Fleming
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    Feb 10th 2019, 10:17 PM

    Howlin do you think we are fools. Yourself and Joan screwed the Labour party voters and it’s time to pay the price. Get back into your box and know we don’t believe you anymore.

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    Mute David Finn
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    Feb 11th 2019, 2:02 PM

    Oh dear Brendan. With this kind of rubbish and his mate Aodhan O’Riordan lobbying against much-needed housing out in Howth is it any wonder Labour are now deeply irrelevant?

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    Mute Wade Wilson
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    Feb 11th 2019, 9:15 AM

    ‘Is it ok if we dont meet with tobacco lobbyists’ is the clever way of saying ‘can we meet with tobacco lobbyists and thake their money while pretending we are against it’

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