Brussels, 10/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 June, Irish Health Minister James Reilly announced that the government had approved the publication of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014 and the presentation of the Bill in the Seanad (Senate). Reilly was delighted to announce that “Ireland will be the first country in the European Union to introduce such legislation and the third country worldwide. This represents a significant step in our tobacco control policy and our goal of being a smoke-free country by 2025”. The draft law was proposed last year by the Irish Minister (see EUROPE 10855). On 30 May, French Minister for Health Marisol Touraine indicated that she was be examining “a whole range of options” in her plan to tackle smoking, including plain packets, without any logo or attractive colouring but that, at this stage, “no decision has been taken”. (IL)