The Economics and Marketing of Tobacco: An Overview of the Existing Published Evidence

Smoking is the largest cause of serious illness and premature death in Ireland accounting for approximately 7,000 deaths annually. Irish people spent €1.9 billion on tobacco in 2000 — more than on petrol, electricity, coal, peat and oil combined. The Office of Tobacco Control commissioned the ESRI to investigate what was known about the economics and marketing of tobacco in Ireland and this report summarises the findings.