Call made for more anti-smoking support services
The Government was today urged to roll out more support services to help smokers kick their addiction as research revealed 90% of people would find it tough to quit.
With health chiefs estimating around 7,000 deaths a year from tobacco use in Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society said there is a need for a comprehensive and uniform approach to reduce fatalities.
Research by healthcare giant Pfizer, carried out in advance of an international tobacco control conference in Dublin, revealed smokers have tried to quit an average of around four times.
Norma Cronin, Irish Cancer Society’s health promotion manager, said support services would help wean the one million smokers in Ireland off the habit.
“Research has proven that support services can play a significant role in helping people quit smoking,” Ms Cronin said.
“As 70% of smokers want to quit there is need for a comprehensive and uniform approach for stop smoking services nationwide.
“Such services would encourage and assist the one million smokers currently living in Ireland to quit and reduce the unacceptably high level of tobacco-related deaths.
“We hope that tomorrow’s conference will help highlight this issue with a view to ensuring effective policies and programmes are in place across the country.”
Pfizer’s research was carried out through face-to-face surveys of 1,006 adults.
Key findings include:
* 90% of smokers are addicted or would find it very hard to quit smoking;
* Smokers cited an average of almost four attempts to quit;
* 36% of smokers feel they fit in socially compared with 27% of non-smokers;
* 63% of non-smokers believe tobacco users are less productive in the workplace than smoking colleagues as they need to take breaks, with 39% of smokers backing up the claim.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has selected “Gender and Tobacco” – with an emphasis on marketing to women – as the theme for World No Tobacco Day on Monday.
In Ireland, 27% of women smoke, based on international studies and statistics, with 2,422 dying as a result of smoking-related diseases each year.
Other research shows that across Europe women are less confident in their ability to quit smoking than men – 30% of females against 53% of males.
Some 42% of women in Ireland would not consider visiting their doctor for advice about quitting smoking, even though WHO research shows that just brief advice can increase the likelihood of a smoker staying off cigarettes by up to 30%.
The 2nd International Conference on Tobacco Control is being organised by ASH Ireland, the Environmental Health Officers’ Association, the Health Service Executive, the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Thoracic Society, the National Cancer Control Programme and the TobaccoFree Research Institute, together with Pfizer Healthcare Ireland.
It is due to feature a wide range of Irish and international guest speakers on tobacco control.
The conference will examine Irish and international advancements in tobacco control, with a view to looking at how Ireland might be better informed in recommending a way towards a tobacco-free society and a reduction in smoking prevalence.
