Warning in Irish on Cigarette packs

O

oldtimer

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Will it make any difference, putting a warning in irish on packets of cigarettes? Its costing a fortune using irish in EU, printing all government forms in irish and now this? What a waste of money
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

I agree 100%. Some people think their issues are worthy but when their are patients on trolleys and rat-infested schools, the fact that someone else is wasting my tax money (as well as the government!) infuriates me!
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

This is bizarre. Talk about diluting your marketing message. Did Rothmans or John Player Inc think it up?
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Maybe they realise that most people won't understand the warning. If a health or government group complains they can just point out that Irish is our first language.

As for the cost, I don’t accept the argument that if we spent the money on schools or hospitals they would be better. The problem there is one of waste and bad allocation of resources, not funding.
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

In fairness, the government didn't choose to do this without being pushed: It's as a result of a court case brought by a primary school teacher from Cavan (who works in the Rathcairn Gaeltacht in Co Meath).
From the Irish Times:
Proceedings brought by Caitríona Uí Riain against the Minister for Health and Children and the State were settled yesterday on the basis of the State agreeing to a mandatory order requiring it to amend the relevant law by October 1st to provide that health warning notices and information notices on cigarette packets be published in the same size in Irish and English...
... In her action, Ms Uí Riain claimed that a statutory instrument of 2003 which was intended to give effect to the 2001 directive did not properly implement the directive regarding the information appearing on tobacco products in that it did not require the health warnings and other information notices to be printed in Irish in the same size with clear priority for the Irish language as the first official language.
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Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Who pays for the warnings to be put on the packs? Is it not a statutory obligation imposed on the tobacco companies?

You either have a bilingual language policy or you don't. If people are so unhappy start campaigning for constitutional change and get the reference to Irish being first language dropped.

How effective are those warnings anyway? Has anyone ever seen someone go up to a counter ask for cigarettes and then back out when they realise there's a health warning on them? You could have them written in proto Indo- European and they'd be as effective in my opinion.
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

I think that in this day and age everybody knows the dangers of smoking. That teacher from Cavan, (working in an artificially created Gaeltacht) has an agenda. One of the reasons why teachers are not elected for jury service is their inability to be impartial. Look here, if our children did some other study rather than Irish, they would be a bit more proficient at being well rounded individuals. I read in the papers over the past few days that the last person who spoke 'Alaskan' has just recently passed away. Where do you stop this silly bi-lingual stuff ....... when there are 5000 native speakers or just one left? Do they have health notices in Latin in the Vatican State. Or in ancient Greek for those inhabitants of Mt. Athos.
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

"Look here, if our children did some other study rather than Irish, they would be a bit more proficient at being well rounded individuals."

Strange then that children from Gaelscoileanna seem to be at a decided academic advantage in later years. And remember - this a reasonably free market: most of the newer Gaeilscoileanna are in non-gaeltacht areas, and are oversubscribed.

You can certainly argue about whether the Irish language specifically needs subsidy and support. However, it is worth bearing in mind that we do not need to approach the debate in terms of whether or not the Irish language should be preserved: there is a bigger issue, of which we are part. There is a much larger debate - which is the issue of whether we should (globally) be making any attempts to preserve linguistic diversity, or whether it is in fact a good thing that many languages should die out and that the world should basically operate (eventually) with just 4 or 5 major language groups. This is a very interesting debate, but one which is beyond the scope of the topic here today.
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Slightly off topic but I must say that the amount of anti-Irish language sentiment on this site is a real eye-opener. In the last week or so, I've read so many negative posts from how bad the language sounds to pot-shots at Irish language placenames. The Scots and Welsh show pride in their language, can we not do the same?
As for the Irish warning on cigarette packs: brilliant, I'm all for it. Let the smoking visitors to our land know that we have a culture, heritage and language of our own. One that we are not prepared to let die, and keep us distinct from our neighbours across the water.
 
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Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

"Strange then that children from Gaelscoileanna seem to be at a decided academic advantage in later years."

As far as I remember - the 'academic advantage' when I was a lad (c.30 years ago)- was that students choosing to answer exams through Irish were given a 10% premium to their results. It was not that they learnt more or were 'brighter' just answered in a different language to their fellow competitors...........

Discrimination or what?

Dicey
 
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Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Yes, agreed. These pupils do extremely well in both exams and later in life. Do they still get a percentage lift for going to all Irish schools? I'd imagine that most of these pupils would be from academic and more professional homes ....... so there would be a more serious approach taken to academia. Wall to wall Gerry Springer et al would not be the norm. Equally, if these pupils went to an ordinary school ....... they would prosper because of the home ethos. So, if they went to a school doing subjects through Esperanto ........ they would get similiar results. Now, I'm not invoking setting up an Esperanto commune at Maam ........ but if I was, I'm sure that some fruitcake with a pro Esperanto slant would start hitting the government for their five minutes of fame.
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

(working in an artificially created Gaeltacht)
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What does this matter?
I'd imagine that most of these pupils would be from academic and more professional homes ....... so there would be a more serious approach taken to academia.
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Considering that not that long ago the majority of homes in Ireland wouldn't have reflected this description, yet todays 20/30/40 somethings have done all right for themselves. I've come from a background where both parents finished school by 14 (to bring in some income), yet both have always pushed for better education for my family. On the flip side I could point to plenty of affluent families with academic parents whose kids have simply gone off the rails. Your view on the classes seems rather skewed.

but if I was, I'm sure that some fruitcake with a pro Esperanto slant would start hitting the government for their five minutes of fame.
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Are you calling those that want to preserve our native language fruitcakes?
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

MOB said:
Strange then that children from Gaelscoileanna seem to be at a decided academic advantage in later years.
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How do you know it's because children attend gaelscoil that they gain an academic advantage in later years? Even if there is ( and I have no proof that there is ) an association between attending a gaelscoil and having an academic advantage in later years, does not mean that attending a gaelscoil will result in an academic advantage in later years . Do they not they teach you in gaelscoil that correlation does not prove causation?
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

All I know is that I hated being taught Irish as a kid.

Because it was compulsory it really made me hate the language.

And after all those years, I barely have 2 words....
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Hi there MrMan. An artificially created Gaeltacht ....... let the market decide. If there were enough people wanting to speak Irish there would be no need for government funding.
On your second point ..... successful people seem to settle in more affluent areas. So their kids will want to live in similiar ecosystems ....... those who are ambitious will and those that go off the rails may. A few will not. But, on the whole, success breeds success. But most people strive to do better and knowingly push their kids in the right direction. I think you will see more casualties on the working class estates ...... crime, unemployment, health issues. All the socio-economic problems that the government earmark. Good for you and your siblings that you had a good grounding. Life is not a level playing field.
Finally ..... I use the word fruitcake in a lighthearted way. But you do have the lunatic fringe of the lunatic fringe ...... if you know what I mean.
No offence was meant in any of the above ....... just my take on things.
 
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Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Calico said:
All I know is that I hated being taught Irish as a kid.

Because it was compulsory it really made me hate the language.

And after all those years, I barely have 2 words....
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Do you hate English and Maths too?
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

Do you hate English and Maths too ......... Most people will agree that both these subjects are necessary to get on in life. Irish is not ........ unless you go for certain government jobs etc. Even the people of Dingle said enough was enough (of government and Irish language pushers). Would the Irish speaking people in receipt of grants (for whatever reason) be less capable of accepting such largesse if those bi-lingual letters were in English only. Incidentally, does anyone know the ratings for T na G?
 
Re: Irish warning on cigarette packs

"How do you know it's because children attend gaelscoil that they gain an academic advantage in later years? Even if there is ( and I have no proof that there is ) an association between attending a gaelscoil and having an academic advantage in later years, does not mean that attending a gaelscoil will result in an academic advantage in later years . Do they not they teach you in gaelscoil that correlation does not prove causation?"

That's not really the point; In a free market, parents are in fact choosing gaeilscoileanna, and the children of those parents are indeed showing better academic and overall progress.

There are three possibilities: that these children are doing better than average in spite of their parents' choice, that they are doing better because of their parents' choice, or that they are doing better due to other unrelated factors.

The point is that there is no evidence whatever to support the assertion that children do better without Irish and there is some evidence which is at least consistent with the assertion that they do better with Irish.
 
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