Anti-smoking group, ASH Ireland, is calling for a 60 cent increase in the price of a packet of cigarettes in next month's Budget.

The organisation is also calling for a reduction or the complete removal of VAT on nicotine replacement patches.

In its pre-Budget submission, ASH said that it is ‘particularly important' that a big increase on the price of cigarettes is introduced.

In relation to nicotine patches, the organisation pointed out that there is a major difference between the cost of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in Ireland compared to other European countries.

"We are asking the Minister for Health to remove or reduce the VAT on nicotine replacement patches as one way of addressing this price differential. Nicotine replacement patches are VAT rated at 5% in the UK, whereas in Ireland it is 23%," commented ASH chairman, Dr Ross Morgan.

ASH is also calling for a 50 cent environmental levy on each pack of 20 cigarettes sold. This levy would be imposed on the tobacco industry, as part of the ‘polluter pays' principle.

"It is well established that tobacco constitutes the main component of urban waste and we are asking the Minister for Health to place a 50 cent levy on each pack of cigarettes sold to recoup the cost of dealing with this waste, which is also a significant environmental hazard. We are insisting that the highly profitable tobacco industry pick up the cost of this levy," Dr Morgan said.

Meanwhile the pre-Budget submission also called on the Government to increase the funding available to agencies involved in the fight against tobacco smuggling.

"Tobacco smuggling is a serious criminal issue and must be treated as such by the agencies who are directly responsible. It is also vitally important that the tobacco dndustry, which has a vested interest in the smuggling issue, is not directly involved as advisors or supporters to the Government on the smuggling issue," Dr Morgan insisted.

He added that he hoped the Minister for Health and the Government would ‘look favourably' at this pre-Budget submission.

Budget 2014 will be announced on October 15.