Health minister James Reilly is to initiate new legislation which will compel tobacco companies to include combined text and photographic warnings on packaging, reports the Irish Times.

At a health promotion conference yesterday, he said existing legislation to curb tobacco smoking was “not tough enough” and described the tobacco industry as a “powerful enemy”. He said he hoped the proposed legislation, which was discussed in Cabinet this week, will be enacted before parliament's summer break.
In 2008, 14 images to be displayed on cigarette packets, went on public display. However, they never made it onto tobacco packaging. Packaging currently carries text warnings only.
Reilly also told the conference that society must acknowledge that it “will no longer accept this burden that alcohol is placing on our families, our society, our health and our lives”. (pi)