The Health Service Executive (HSE) has criticised a new study that suggested survival rates for breast cancer have declined.
The Health at a Glance 2007study, which examines health care in 30 countries, claimed that Ireland is the third-highest ranked country in deaths from breast cancer in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The report also revealed that Ireland is among the biggest consumers of alcohol and tobacco in the OECD.
The OECD report also found that despite the smoking ban, 27 per cent of the population still smokes
In a statement released this afternoon, the HSE said that the study quoted breast cancer survival data that is calculated using a method slightly different to survival data reported by the National Cancer Registry, and that the time periods reported for survival in the report are also different.
But the Health Service Executive admitted that data quoted in the OECD report broadly confirms the fact that there is room for improvement in cancer mortality relative to other EU 15 countries.
Health Care at a Glance 2007reveals that Ireland, Hungary, France and the Czech Republic reported the highest consumption of alcohol in the OECD, with 12 litres or more per adult per year in 2004- 2005.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) said that while it accepted that there is a problem of alcohol misuse, consumption per adult has now passed its peak and it expects to see further reductions in the years ahead.
The OECD report also shows that despite the smoking ban in 2004, 27 per cent of the population still smokes; the OECD average is 24.3 per cent.
Over half of the adult population is defined as either being overweight or obese in 15 OECD countries, while the rate of obesity has more than doubled over the past 20 years in the United States, almost tripled in Australia and more than tripled in the United Kingdom.
In Ireland, 13 per cent of the population was classified as obese by 2005, compared with 32.2 per cent in the United States.
The study indicates that health expenditure in Ireland between 1995 and 2005 was almost double the OECD average. It also found that Ireland and Korea experienced the highest growth in spending over this period.
