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Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn says Big Tobacco can help government fight black market cigarettes and has proposed Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International appear before an Oireachtas committee – to talk about how Ireland taxes their products.

In a submission to the trade committee O’Flynn said the two tobacco giants – whose gross revenue last year was $40 billion and $21.95 billion – could talk about “illicit trade prevention measures”.

Earlier this year Philip Morris used an Australian senate hearing on the same subject to argue for lower taxes on their products to combat illicit trade.

O’Flynn said that “a large and growing share of this heavily regulated market” is now controlled by criminal gangs – and that Big Tobacco can help government do something about it.

“Representatives of these manufacturers should be questioned with respect to any data or information they hold relating to their protection of their products or brands,” he wrote. “Their distribution networks and anti-counterfeiting measures should be rigorously examined to determine to what extent these companies themselves can assist in the prevention of unlawful tobacco sales in the state.”

He also said the committee should explore “the relationship between excise policy and the size of the illicit market” and how it should be weighed against public health objectives.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that increasing the price of tobacco is “the single most effective and cost-effective measure for reducing tobacco use”. The organisation calls for it in its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Ireland has ratified this document, which says tobacco companies should not have any input in public health policy.

O’Flynn says his proposal aligns with the convention, arguing that “engagement with manufacturers on the specific subject of illicit trade in their own products is contemplated by the framework, provided it is necessary, transparent and on the public record”.

Approximately 4,500 people die in Ireland each year from tobacco-related diseases. Worldwide the figure is around 7 million, according to WHO.

O’Flynn has been contacted for comment.

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