Tobacco Free Ireland is encouraging people to give up smoking as part of World No Tobacco Day. Public health experts say smokers will feel immediate health benefits from giving up the habit.
Smoking causes 4,500 thousand deaths here each year, with the latest figures showing 18 percent of the population are smokers. The number of smokers in lower socio-economic groups is three times higher compared to those who are more well-off.
The HSE has announced it’s investing a further 3 million euro a year in supporting people to quit smoking, with a focus on communities with the highest levels of smoking. Dr Paul Kavanagh, Public Health Medicine Specialist with the HSE, says more progress has been made in more well-off groups.
