Cheap cigarettes fuelling Poles' heavy smoking

Plane-loads of cheap cigarettes flown in from Eastern Europe are fuelling heavy smoking among Ireland’s Poles, a government minister claimed today.

Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan insisted a huge difference in price was partially to blame for Polish migrants smoking more than Irish people.

The Research Institute for A Tobacco Free Society (RIFTFS) agreed and urged dramatic price hikes for cigarettes in cheaper European states.

Professor Luke Clancy, director of the government-funded body, said cut-price cigarettes in Poland almost made it worthwhile for Polish smokers in Ireland to take a flight home for a weekend.

“They are very cheap in Poland and, of course, the Polish people who come here get Irish salaries and pay Polish prices for cigarettes. This encourages them to smoke more,” he said.

It is legal under EU laws for residents to bring cigarettes for personal use between states.

RIFTFS published research that shows 61% of Polish men and 47% of Polish women aged between 20 and 40 years living in Ireland are smokers, compared to 31% of Irish people in the same age group.

The study of 1,545 Poles also found they are much more likely to smoke than their peers in Poland, with those in the 20 to 25 years age group most likely to smoke.

Minister Lenihan – who has lived and worked for a time in Eastern Europe – said the findings came as no surprise to him but would help the government tackle the problem among Ireland’s largest immigrant community.

He said that as well as cultural differences on the acceptability of smoking between Ireland and other parts of Europe the price difference was key to the higher prevalence of smoking among migrant workers.

“It’s so inordinately cheaper in central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries that we are seeing the phenomenon of plane-loads of people coming back [to Ireland] at the weekends, or when the weekends are over, with cigarettes,” he said.

“This is obviously an issue that has come to the attention of the Customs and Excise services as well.”

Prof Clancy said he wanted to see a huge increase in the price of cigarettes in countries like Poland as part of an EU harmonisation strategy to stamp out smoking-related disease and death.

“You can get cigarettes for as cheap as a euro a box in Poland,” he said.

“At EU level we must try to harmonise the price the cigarettes. At national level, we must respond to the need of these people for advice and help in smoking cessation.”

The RIFTFS director said its research showed more than 50% of Polish smokers in Ireland wanted to quit now while only 8% had sought out medical advice on to stop the habit.

“So we must provide culturally sensitive and appropriate services to meet this need, otherwise we are storing up trouble for the future with the huge carnage of disease it will bring,” he added.

It is estimated there are between 140,000 and 150,000 Poles living in Ireland, although some unofficial estimates put the figure as high as 200,000.

Anna Wolek, an official at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dublin, said she hoped Ireland’s offensive on smoking would help the Polish community beat the habit.