Pubdate: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 Source: Examiner, The (Ireland) Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 1998 Contact: http://www.examiner.ie/ Author: Dr Fenton Howell ONE SCANDAL ISN'T BEING COVERED EVERY day the tobacco industry needs to recruit at least 25 new smokers in order to maintain its current market share. Hence, the recent scandal - where an Irish based tobacco company, PJ Carroll's Tobacco Ltd, made available to students of UCD Law Society free cigarettes - is a matter of grave concern. It has been acknowledged that this practice, which has been ongoing for a number of years, is illegal. The involvement of the UCD Law Society in this scandal underlines how vulnerable and naive the students were in their dealings with PJ Carroll's Tobacco Ltd. The role of PJ Carroll's in this scandal is another matter entirely. The legislation which prohibits the free distribution of cigarettes is clear and unambiguous and has been on the statute books for many years. Yet, PJ Carroll's was prepared to deliberately break the law and to implicate the students in lawbreaking in order to achieve its objectives: the promotion of its cigarettes and the buying of goodwill towards the industry from the student population. Once PJ Carroll's was identified as the culprit, it immediately went to ground, refusing to make any comment, especially an apology. This is standard practice for the tobacco industry, sit tight and the media will go away and the story will die. The Minister for Health and Children is charged with enforcing the law on the promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products. A clear and public message needs to be sent to the tobacco industry in this country that our laws are not to be ignored by the industry. How PJ Carroll's is dealt with as a result of its contempt for the Minister's authority should be followed closely. Over the last few years there have been many scandals unearthed in this country involving the beef industry, the contamination of blood products, planning decisions, banking irregularities and the funding of politicians, to name but a few. In each case the role of the media has been crucial in making sure that we know who is involved and to some degree what that involvement was. Without good investigative journalism much of what has been unearthed would have remained hidden. Unfortunately, the one scandal that seems to escape any real investigation is the death of 6,500 Irish people every year from tobacco-related diseases and who exactly profits from so much misery. Just who are the godfathers of the tobacco industry in Ireland? There could be a Journalist of the Year award in the wings for some budding journalist. Any takers? Dr Fenton Howell, European Medical Association Smoking or Health, 1, Victoria Terrace, Laytown, Co. Meath. --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry