The Government is being asked to add 60 cent to the price of a pack of cigarettes in next month's budget and to develop a new form of regulation that would curb the ‘excessive profits' being made by cigarette companies here.

In a joint pre-Budget submission, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) and the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) called on the Government to introduce annual tax increases on tobacco products of 5% above inflation - this would amount to an additional 60 cent on a packet of cigarettes.

However, they also want to see new State regulation of the tobacco industry, in an attempt to cut down on what they describe as ‘supernormal' profits.

The charities pointed to research carried out by UK economist, Dr Robert Branston, which shows that tobacco companies record profit margins of up to 55% after duties on sales in this country. This is around three times more profit than food and drinks manufacturers manage to achieve.

In 2011, the combined profits of the three tobacco firms that have the biggest hold in the Irish market came to €104 million.

The charities insisted that these major profits are ‘being permitted by the Department of Finance', despite the fact that smoking-related illnesses cost the State an estimated €2 billion annually. This is far below the €1.42 billion that was taken in tobacco tax receipts in 2011.

Speaking at the launch of the pre-Budget submission, Dr Branston explained that the State could take up to €65 million more in tax from tobacco companies - without impacting the price of cigarettes - if industry profits were reduced to normal levels of between 12 and 20%.

He noted that there are a number of reasons why tobacco companies record such high profits in Ireland, including the fact that just three companies control virtually the whole Irish market.

However through a system of regulation, he insisted, the State could cut the tobacco industry's profit margins here.

"Tobacco multinationals can continue to charge premium prices and make excessive profits because their products are very cheap to make, are highly addictive and competition in such a highly regulated market is so limited. This extreme profitability creates the incentive and ability for tobacco companies to fight tobacco control measures to the detriment of public health," Dr Branston said.

Also speaking at the pre-Budget submission, Chris Macey of the IHF described it as ‘bizarre' that in a country that has regulators for everything from energy to taxi drivers, there is no regulator for an industry ‘whose products kill half of all their users'.

"There is no legitimate argument for the status quo because even apart from the health catastrophe of 5,200 people killed by tobacco-related illness a year in Ireland, the tobacco industry is a drain on the nation's economy. It creates virtually no employment and on Department of Health estimates the taxpayer is subsidising tobacco companies to the tune of almost €6 for every euro of profit they take out of the country," he noted.

Meanwhile, according to Kathleen O'Meara of the ICS, the extra €65 million that the State could generate as a result of introducing a tobacco industry regulator could be used to help people quit smoking and tackle issues such as tobacco smuggling.

"By combining higher taxes, tough anti-smuggling measures and improved smoking cessation services, we can achieve the win-win of a major reduction in smoking rates and huge extra revenue for the Exchequer," she added.

The 2014 Budget will be announced on Tuesday, October 15.