Government accused of 'losing its way' on tobacco control as fall in number of smokers stalls
Research has shown that young people who do not smoke and who start vaping are three to five times more likely to start smoking than those who do not start vaping, HSE said
The HSE has said e-cigarettes are not recommended as a way to give up smoking, as the Government was accused of “losing its way” on tobacco control in Ireland.
It comes as new figures this week showed e-cigarette use among young people has surged, while the fall in the number of smokers in Ireland has stalled.
The latest edition of the landmark Healthy Ireland survey revealed 18% of people in Ireland are regular smokers, while almost a fifth of young people use e-cigarettes daily.
Furthermore, the survey said one fifth of the population also admitted having taken illegal drugs at least once, with 18% of 15–24-year-olds having smoked cannabis in the last year and 5% of people aged 15-34 having taken cocaine.
Irish Heart Foundation director of advocacy Chris Macy said the Government’s aim of reducing the number of smokers in Ireland to just 5% of the population by 2025 was “obviously dead in the water” and we are likely to miss that target by half a million smokers.
“And at the same time, about 4,500 people continue to die from smoking-related issues each year,” he said.
“More people died from cigarettes during the covid-19 pandemic than from covid.”
Mr Macy said the rate of people smoking in Ireland remaining the same while the number of people smoking e-cigarettes was rising “gives lie to” the idea that vaping was reducing smoking rates.
He said although proposals are passing through the Oireachtas, Ireland will be one of the last countries in Europe to ban the sale of vapes to children, and further legislation to ban the sale of flavoured vapes “will take time”.
“What we have to do is the Government has to commit not wasting a single day more to getting these measures in,” Mr Macy said. “It’s crucial to the future health of this generation.”
In a statement, the HSE said it had made great strides in tackling tobacco across the country in recent decades, but progress was stalling in recent years.
“Unfortunately, it is still the case that one in every two smokers will die as a result of a tobacco-related illness,” it said.
On vaping, it said research has shown that young people who do not smoke and who start vaping are three to five times more likely to start smoking than those who do not start vaping.
“The finding of an increase in e-cigarette use in Ireland, which is especially high among younger adults, is worrying,” the HSE said.
“We sometimes hear from the vape industry that greater use of e-cigarettes will help reduce the harm caused by smoking.
“Yet the results reported in Healthy Ireland Survey 2023 show that smoking rates are stalling in Ireland while e-cigarette use is increasing. The National Stop Smoking Guidelines, endorsed by the minister for health in 2022, do not recommend that someone who smokes uses e-cigarettes are a way to stop smoking.”
The rate of smoking among younger people remains considerable, according to the data. Three in 10 (29%) of men aged 25-34 smoke daily or occasionally, and Ipsos director Kieran O’Leary, whose company conducted the study, said “smokers are still being recruited” from those younger age cohorts.
“Around 8% of the population use e-cigarettes on a regular basis, so we can really see where the challenge is,” he said. “Particularly as the long-term impacts are unclear.”
Speaking at the launch of the survey, Minister of State for public health Hildegarde Naughton said: “Smoking levels are broadly stable. However, 8% of the population now use e-cigarettes.
“While they can be a valuable quit aid, usage rates have risen. We’re progressing [legislation] that contains a wide range of measures to tackle smoking and vaping among children and adults. That should be enacted very shortly.”
