Government accused over smoking

THE IRISH Heart Foundation (IHF) has called on the Government to urgently establish a national anti-smoking taskforce. The IHF has compared the number of people in Ireland dying from smoking-related illnesses every year to the equivalent of two 9/11s.

It has accused the Government of failing to follow up on the smoking ban by properly funding cessation policies and imposing increased tobacco taxes.

IHF chief executive Michael O’Shea said only 0.89 cent is spent per person per year on trying to help smokers quit. Meanwhile, the latest survey of Irish smokers, released to coincide with World No Smoking Day today, has found 60 per cent of those who have tried at least three times to quit have never consulted a doctor about their attempts to stop.

A total of 88 per cent of Irish smokers have tried to quit at some stage, according to the online survey of 1,000 adult smokers carried out by Ipsos MRBI and funded by Pfizer.

The most common method to stop smoking is willpower, which accounts for 63 per cent of all those who have attempted to quit, while 42 per cent have tried nicotine patches and gum, 26 per cent have attempted a gradual decrease and 12 per cent have opted for hypnotherapy or acupuncture.

Nearly 60 per cent of smokers have used mints, perfume or air fresheners to hide the smell of smoke from others, 31 per cent have hidden smoking paraphernalia and 41 per cent have lied about the amount they smoke.

One in five has avoided friends or family because they knew they would not be able to smoke.

Prof Luke Clancy of the Tobacco Free Research Institute said the research confirmed that many smokers underestimated the difficulties in giving up and were unaware that there were treatments available to those who wanted to quit.

Prof Clancy has been highly critical in the past of the medical profession in Ireland and has warned that tobacco addiction is a disease like any other and should be treated as such. “It is a fact that people can stop on their own, but the chances are low.”

Prof Clancy also said the extent to which people concealed their smoking habit showed there was a sea change in attitudes to the habit as a result of the ban introduced seven years ago.

“People are much more conscious about the smell of smoke because they know what it is like to be in a smoke-free environment,” he said. “This is part of the denormalisation of smoking. Smoking is no longer regarded as normal behaviour.”