Ireland to raise age of sale of tobacco to 21 and introduce warnings on alcohol

Did I mention I was in Dublin last week?

Over in Ireland the Government has rejected a UK-style generational ban. Instead ministers have decided that the age of sale of tobacco should go up from 18 to 21 in 2028.

Although I am opposed, in principle, to increasing the age of sale beyond 18, at which point people are legally adults, I do accept that 21 is better than creeping prohibition (raising the age of sale by one year every year).

One area in which Ireland is 'leading' the world is health warnings on alcohol. From May 22, 2026, 'Labels will alert people to calories, risk of cancer and liver disease and dangers of drinking while pregnant'.

The news has been under-reported in the UK, which doesn't surprise me. The same thing happened when politicians in Ireland discussed and then passed a law banning smoking in the workplace.

As I remember, it only became a significant media story in the UK the week the law was actually enacted, but prior to that relatively little was written or spoken about it. Now history could be repeating itself.

In my view we should always monitor and, where necessary, oppose illiberal and unnecessarily restrictive measures in any country, whatever the size of the market, because that is often where momentum for radical new policies starts.

Laws are passed and that creates a precedent for policies that were previously not considered by governments in larger jurisdictions.

As far as the workplace smoking ban is concerned, Ireland was the canary in the coal mine. Likewise the tobacco display ban was introduced in Ireland several years before the UK.

It will be interesting, then, to see what impact the introduction of health warnings on alcohol in Ireland will have on UK government policy.

If I worked for the UK drinks industry I would be keeping a very close eye on things because we all know the anti-alcohol agenda won't stop with health warnings.

The tobacco playbook offers a clear template for puritans in government and public health and this is just the beginning.