Providing Minors With Cigarettes

aido 1976

Maybe you guys here can answer a question for me,

Is it an offence to provide a minor with cigarettes, I know it is an offence to sell cigarettes to a minor IE: a retailer etc,

But to actually buy the cigarettes and give them to what is essentially a child.

I know there are a few Guards on here that could give me a definitive answer to this, and how I can go about reporting this.


Many Thanks in advance.

biko

From After Hours.

jamiecoins

isnt the law something like 16 to smoke 18 to buy ?

aido 1976

jamiecoins wrote: »

isnt the law something like 16 to smoke 18 to buy ?

The minor in question has just turned 13 yo, and the provider is a 31 yo adult

Jev/N

jamiecoins wrote: »

isnt the law something like 16 to smoke 18 to buy ?

That's what I remember hearing years back but I can't confirm for definite

caseyann

aido 1976 wrote: »

The minor in question has just turned 13 yo, and the provider is a 31 yo adult

Well aside from it being morally wrong i think it is against the law to give a minor cigarettes.The bigger problem with that is proof of actually the person giving minor cigarettes.
Call into your local Garda station and ask.
Or if you know the parents approach them and warn them.

TylerIE

If its the parents providing them then its probably more to do with the welfare of the child so you could contact the HSE or ask the Gardai to do same..

If its another adult then I would question the motives of them supplying the children, and inform the Parents or Gardai.

Im not convinced there is a specific offence being committed - indeed if there is there is a lot of offenders in Ireland!

mikemac

TylerIE wrote: »

If its another adult then I would question the motives of them supplying the children, and inform the Parents or Gardai.

How I read it was the OP meets a youngster outside the newsagent who asks them to buy cigarettes

Realy, most of us have been asked at some stage

It's an interesting question alright, if I buy and give the cigarettes to the youngster is it an offense. It wasn't my money, I just took their money and did a favour.
Morally wrong, but what's the legal offence?

MagicSean

Op I suggest you contact the office of tobacco control. They deal with this stuff. Www.otc.ie

seamus

Public Health (Tobacco) Act, 2002; Section 45. It is an offence to supply someone under 18 years of age with a tobacco product.

There doesn't seem to be any specific age restriction in relation to the person actually smoking the cigarette, but it's definitely an offence for anyone under any circumstances to give a cigarette to someone under 18.

aido 1976

caseyann wrote: »

Well aside from it being morally wrong i think it is against the law to give a minor cigarettes.The bigger problem with that is proof of actually the person giving minor cigarettes.
Call into your local Garda station and ask.
Or if you know the parents approach them and warn them.

The 31yo provider has admitted to giving the cigarettes to the 13 yo minor and the 13 yo has admitted recieving them from that person.

aido 1976

mikemac wrote: »

How I read it was the OP meets a youngster outside the newsagent who asks them to buy cigarettes

Realy, most of us have been asked at some stage

It's an interesting question alright, if I buy and give the cigarettes to the youngster is it an offense. It wasn't my money, I just took their money and did a favour.
Morally wrong, but what's the legal offence?

mikemac

The offender actually offered to go and buy the cigarettes, The youngster took that person up and the offer, and the offender actually went and purchased the cigarettes and gave them to the youngster.

aido 1976

seamus wrote: »

Public Health (Tobacco) Act, 2002; Section 45. It is an offence to supply someone under 18 years of age with a tobacco product.

There doesn't seem to be any specific age restriction in relation to the person actually smoking the cigarette, but it's definitely an offence for anyone under any circumstances to give a cigarette to someone under 18.

Prohibition on sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age.
45.—(1) It shall be an offence for a person to sell a tobacco product by retail, or supply a tobacco product, to, or invite an offer to purchase a tobacco product by, a person who has not attained the age of 18 years.

(2) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) it shall be a defence for the person against whom such proceedings are brought to prove that—

(a) he or she made all reasonable efforts to satisfy himself or herself that the person to whom the alleged offence relates had at the time of the alleged commission of the offence attained the age of 18 years, or

(b) the person specified in paragraph (a) produced to the first-mentioned person an age card, for the time being in force, relating to the person so specified.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) the court may have regard to a person's physical appearance or attributes for the purpose of determining whether that person is under the age of 18 years or was, at the time of the alleged commission of the offence to which the proceedings relate, under the age of 18 years.

(4) In this section “age card” has the same meaning as it has in Part IV of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988

I know it is an offence for a retailer to sell tabacco products to a person below the age of 18 years old, but am I correct in interpreting that in section 45-1 above that
Supply means to actually give a tabacco products be it with or without the exchange of money as in non retailer sense

Invite or Offer means to mearly suggest to or offer to buy tabacco products to a minor is an offence in its self
As for Section 45-2
The offender knows that the minor is under the legal age of 18 years (And is actually related to the minor so not being sure of the age is no defence)