Fight must go on despite fall - The curse of smoking

WORLD No Smoking Day was marked at the weekend and our public health policy-makers, and some politicians too, were entitled to mark the occasion with some degree of satisfaction. 

That satisfaction will be tempered, though, by the realisation that more work needs to be done to end the toll smoking takes on individuals, families, health services, and public resources.

Though far too many Irish people still smoke, and though that affliction seems a class issue, if political correctness allows the universal plague to be defined in those terms, it is worthwhile to record that we have the fourth-lowest rate of smoking in the European Union and that we have recorded the biggest decrease in smoking levels of the 28 EU member states since 2012 — down 8%.

It is disheartening, though, that, despite extensive educational programmes, the most graphic advertising, and something around 6,000 smoking-related deaths each year, that the highest smoking rate in Ireland is among those in the 25 to 39 age bracket. Why do these young adults ignore the advice so obvious to everyone else?

Micheál Martin, as health minister, brought the war on tobacco to a new level and James Reilly continues that effort. The aggressive response to plans to control cigarette packaging shows that this public enemy is still prepared to jeopardise its customers’ health. The fight goes on.

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