A state monopoly, it employs 520,000 workers, produces 500 brands and has 183 factories, 150 tobacco drying plants, and 30 research institutes
[12] Irelands Budget 2026 (October 2025) increased tobacco excise, with the government reporting pro-rata increases applying to other tobacco products, including roll-your-own tobacco
And mainly their power is in distribution
Motivations and attitudes Reasons for use Ex-smokers: quitting (24%), stress (17%) Smokers: reduce smoking (17%), enjoyment (15%) Never-smokers: stress (29%), enjoyment (26%) Satisfaction and barriers 63% of ex-smokers who vape find vaping as or more satisfying than smoking Barriers faced by smokers to vaping: fear of substituting one addiction for another (25%), safety concerns (20%) Misperceptions of harm 54% of people believe vaping is as/more harmful than smoking Misperceptions are highest among smokers who have never vaped (61%) and smokers who have stopped vaping (58%) Quitting vaping 19% of those who have tried to quit vaping using a particular method have used smoking as an aid to quit vaping 2.1 Reasons for use Ex-smokers: quitting (24%), stress (17%) Smokers: reduce smoking (17%), enjoyment (15%) Never-smokers: stress (29%), enjoyment (26%) Reasons for vaping Among those who vaped more than once or twice, the four main reasons for vaping are as an aid to quitting smoking (18%), followed by enjoying the experience (16%), to help with stress or mental health (16%) and preventing relapse (12%)
25.0%, respectively), but there was overlap in the 95%CIs around PRs for changes from the start to the end of the period suggesting the difference was uncertain (PR = 2.58 [2.402.90] for men
