Ireland second toughest on smokers in EU

The Republic of Ireland is the toughest country in Europe on smokers after the UK, a major survey revealed today.

But cigarette users here still have an average 15-a-day habit, which is the sixth highest out of 27 EU countries.

Professor Luke Clancy, director general of the Tobacco Free Research Institute, insisted the three-year study showed stricter measures are still needed.

“While it is good news that Ireland has achieved this result, there is no room for complacency,” he said.

“We need to keep a focus on young people so that we can help them not to start smoking and encourage smokers to quit.

“Budget price hikes do help and a ban on ten-packs have also been useful, but there is still a great deal more work to be done to denormalise smoking.”

Ireland’s tobacco control score of 74 – the second strictest in the EU after the UK – was measured by the EU HELP Campaign for a Life Without Tobacco.

It is based on six categories including price, public place bans, public information campaign spending, advertising bans, health warnings and treatment.

The survey revealed that the Irish pipe-smoke four times more than the European average.

However just 1% of smokers here roll their own cigarettes compared to 4% of Europeans.

Irish smokers have almost twice the recommended level of toxic carbon monoxide (CO) in their system, according to the study.

Tests were carried out on 4,276 Irish participants, 63% of whom were smokers, to assess their levels of the dangerous gas.

The COex rate was 15.2 for Irish women and 16.7 for Irish men – almost twice the acceptable level of 8.5 parts per million exhaled.

Those who smoked ten a day had a COex rate of 12.1, rising to 14.8 for 15 a day and 16.2 for 20 a day – well below EU figures of 14.2, 18.5 and 22.1 respectively.

The anti-smoking campaign said its survey of 340,000 Europeans was aimed at addressing one of the main causes of avoidable death in the EU.