Working life: Dr Paul Kavanagh: director of public health medicine, HSE North East

Dr Paul Kavanagh is the director of public health medicine, HSE North East and public health adviser to the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme

Dr Paul Kavanagh is the director of public health medicine, HSE North East and public health adviser to the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme

7am

Porridge and coffee for breakfast, then off to work. My role as director of public health medicine, HSE North East, is based in Navan so I’m a reverse commuter and have a 50-minute spin from home in Dublin city centre to the office. It brings me through the Phoenix Park, the commuting equivalent of a breath of fresh air.

9am

I arrive at work to lead a great team that delivers regional public health services. This includes checking the pulse of the population through review of disease notifications; identifying unusual patterns indicating a threat to public health, and working with the local team and colleagues nationally to investigate and control the situation.

We recently managed an outbreak of measles, and at this time of year, responding to increased seasonal flu activity is a big focus.

Noon

Key among my national responsibilities is my role as public health adviser to the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme. January is a popular time for smokers to quit. We plan, deliver, and monitor a range of online, telephone-based and face-to-face services which can be accessed through QUIT.ie and 1800 201 203.

2pm

Our main focus at the moment is to encourage more quitters to reach out and benefit from safe, effective smoking cessation supports like 1-2-1 counselling and medicines like nicotine replacement therapy and Varenicline. Not enough quitters are aware that they can double their chance of making this quit attempt their last, through accessing support.

People think tobacco control in Ireland is over since we implemented smoke-free workplace legislation, but we still have more than 100 smoking-related deaths weekly, each an avoidable tragedy.

We are making headway and this year we celebrated that there are now more quitters than smokers in Ireland — a great milestone.

5.30pm

I head for home.

7pm

With both hairline and waistline moving in the wrong direction, I have to consciously make and sustain healthy choices. In recent years, I’ve set myself a couch-to- five-mile challenge in January. The Grand Canal makes for a scenic and mercifully flat circuit to pound while listening to music. On Friday, Netflix and the couch can be a good option too.