THE BURDEN OF SMOKING ON HEALTH, HEALTHCARE AND SOCIETY IS CONSIDERABLE
- Globally, 1.3 billion people use tobacco. Of these, tobacco use kills more than 8 million people worldwide every year1
- Across Ireland in 2022, 18% of the population were estimated to smoke, 16% smoked daily and 2% smoked occasionally2
- 20% of men and 17% of women smoke2
- Although there was a steady decline in the prevalence of smoking in Ireland from 23% in 2015 to 17% in 2019, this rate has now increased slightly2
- In 2019, approximately 4,500 deaths were attributed to smoking2
- Smoking and its effects place a large pressure on healthcare resources. In 2019, 44,000 hospitalisations were estimated to be attributed to smoking 2
Smoking contributed to:
- 20% of respiratory disease hospitalisations
- 10% of circulatory disease hospitalisations
- 12% of cancer hospitalisations in 20192
- In 2013, the estimated cost to the healthcare system of smoking was over €460 million, the cost of lost productivity was over €1 billion, and the cost of loss of welfare was over €9 billion3
SMOKING CESSATION IS A PRIORITY IN IRELAND
- The Department of Health (DOH) in Ireland have set a target to obtain a ‘smoke-free’ Ireland by 2025, which is a smoking prevalence of less than 5%4
- Support for a ‘smoke-free’ Ireland is high amongst the Irish population5
- Enhancing the progress of smoking cessation services nationally is critical in achieving a ‘smoke free’ Ireland6
References
- World Health Organization. Tobacco Factsheet. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco. Accessed March 2025.
- HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme. The state of tobacco control in Ireland 2022. Available at https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/tobaccocontrol/state-of-tobacco-control-report-2022.pdf Accessed March 2025.
- ICF International. An assessment of the economic cost of smoking in Ireland. Available at https://assets.gov.ie/
34808/8b5d52eeea4447419f38b447733d02b9.pdf. Accessed March 2025. - Department of Health. Tobacco Free Ireland Annual Report 2021. Available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/eaef0-tobacco-free-ireland-2021-
annual-report/#:~:text=Tobacco%20Free%20Ireland%20is%20Ireland’s,and%20the%20denormalisation%20of%20smoking.
Accessed March 2025. - Bringing the tobacco epidemic to an End: Public views on Tobacco Endgame in Ireland May 2022. Available at https://www.hse.ie/go/archive-2024/news/tobacco-endgame-report-2022.pdf. Accessed March 2025.
- Stop Smoking National Clinical Guideline No. 28, 2022. Available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/4828b-stop-smoking/.
Accessed March 2025.
Adverse Events / Product Complaints or for
Pharmacovigilance or Medical enquiries please contact:
E: drugsafety@consilienthealth.com
T: (01) 205 7766
All other queries: (01) 205 7760
Pharmacovigilance or Medical enquiries please contact:
E: drugsafety@consilienthealth.com
T: (01) 205 7766
All other queries: (01) 205 7760
Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions. To report an adverse event or a product complaint about a Consilient Health medicine, please contact Consilient Health at drugsafety@consilienthealth.com or 012057766. Adverse events and product complaints may also be reported to the Health Products Regulatory Authority. Reporting form and information can be found at http://www.hpra.ie then click on “report an issue”.
IE-CH-1565(1)Date of Preparation March 2025