Cigarette quitting rate up in smoke

NINE out of every 10 people who try to give up cigarettes fail within a year, a survey has revealed.

The North Eastern Health Board tracked the progress of 1,450 smokers who signed up to their quitting program. After three months, almost a third (32%) were still off cigarettes. After 12 months, this figure dropped to under one in 10.

The smokers on the pilot project received individual counselling and a six-week Stop Smoking course.

Although the 9% success rate was extremely low, research shows that smokers who give up without any assistance are even less successful. Only 2% of smokers succeed in giving up without any help.

But the Irish Cancer Society said people looking to break the habit should not be discouraged.

"Some people have to make a few attempts. If someone starts smoking again, we call it a relapse or a slip, not a failure," said anti-tobacco consultant Norma Cronin .

The custom of making a fresh start for the New Year is almost as ingrained as the smoking habit itself.

Allen Carr's self-help book, The Easy Way to Quit Smoking, has been in the bestseller lists for the last two months.

More than 100 smokers are still calling the Irish Cancer Society's Quitline every day.

They are given advice and are sent a smoking advice kit by the Department of Health. More than 250,000 kits have been distributed during the last three years.

The counsellors manning the Quitline also try to discover how serious the addiction is. Having a cigarette first thing in the morning is usually a reliable indicator of a heavy smoker, said Ms Cronin.

Many heavy smokers use Nicotine Replacement Therapy to help stem the physical craving.

Pharmaceutical company Nicorette has sold 130,000 packs since the start of the new year, including four million pieces of gum, 350,000 patches, 500,000 micro tabs and 200,000 inhaler cartridges.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said it was obvious that smokers were trying to change.

"This year, more than ever, we've heard of people trying to give up. They know that workplaces will have to smoke-free by law this year and they don't want to be sitting in the office, gasping for a cigarette," said administrator Valerie Coghlan.

A Western Health Board study has also revealed how our chidren's health is damaged by passive smoking.

Environmental scientist Maurice Mulcahy examined the levels of cotinine, the substance produced when the body breaks down nicotine, in 164 Galway schoolchildren.

He found that children from smoking households had cotinine levels three times higher than those from non-smoking households. More than 3% had higher levels of cotinine than bar workers.

According to the World Health Organisation, passive smoking can increase the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 20% to 30% and other adverse health effects on children include pneumonia, bronchitis, coughing and wheezing and worsening of asthma.

The Irish Cancer Society's Quitline number is 1850 201 203