Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-13-Speech-2-115"
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"en.20000613.10.2-115"2
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"Mr President, the European Union spends EUR 1 billion each year subsidising tobacco production – EUR 1 billion. That kills over 500,000 EU citizens – half a million of our citizens. It would be cheaper to go out and shoot them. It would save money on health services. How many billion euros are spent on health services trying to save the lives of people who try to kill themselves with cigarettes?
As you have gathered, I am an intolerant non-smoker. I do care, and I am extremely concerned about the increasing number of people, particularly young girls, who are starting to smoke. We can write off those of my age and older who have been at it virtually all their lives but young people are missing the message. Surely, it is not beyond the best brains of the political world, the medical and scientific world and the marketing world to get the message right so that our young people do not start to smoke. That is my plea. Can we not get the marketing message to them?
We would have to protect the tobacco farmers. There would have to be alternatives, but surely it can be done. It is immoral to spend EU taxpayers' money on subsidising a product that kills half a million of our people. We must find alternatives.
In my country, and I suspect in all the other 14 Member States, you can have drink rehabilitation paid for by the public health medical system, you can have hard drug rehabilitation paid for by the public health medical system, but anyone trying to come off cigarettes gets no help from state public health services. We must correct that anomaly. In my country nicotine replacement therapy is only available by medical prescription. Madness! It should be available next to where all cigarettes and tobacco products are sold. You can opt to buy replacement therapy rather than overdose on cigarettes. What is the difference?
The general medical services systems, which in Ireland is our public health care system, should fund those who want to come off cigarettes and provide nicotine replacement therapy prescriptions free. The state should fund it."@en1
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