Government plans will see Ireland become virtually tobacco-free by 2025 according to their latest report published on Thursday.
The two key themes underpinning plans for a Tobacco Free Ireland are the protection of children and the denormalisation of smoking.
It plans to build on the existing tobacco control policies and legislation already in place in Ireland and has set the target to be tobacco-free - with a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5% - by 2025.
In recent times, the government moved to ban the sale of a number of cigarettes types in Ireland, and in 2016, all flavours of cigarettes, except menthol, were taken off the market. Then in 2020, the sale of all menthol brands was made illegal.
A number of initiatives aimed at introducing tobacco-free environments in areas frequented by children have now been established by local authorities in Tipperary, Offaly, and Dublin and so it’s hoped that ‘Smoke-Free’ zones will become the norm across the country.
There are currently no cigarette manufacturers in Ireland, and authorities will continue to carry out inspections of manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of e-cigarettes and refill containers.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic affected annual fieldwork, the most up-to-date figures show that in 2020 there was a 20% increase in the number of people signing up for online support to quit and a 24% increase in visits to Quit.ie.
Over one in three people who smoke said they intend to use the HSE Quit services, which is an increase of 14% on 2019.
A gradual process over the next few years will aid the plan for a ‘smoke-free’ Ireland by 2025, through various actions like:
- Continued promotion of tobacco-free environments, with local initiatives creating safe and smoke-free areas around playgrounds and parks, e.g. launch of the Not Around Us campaign in Clare
- The publication of the Health Research Board's evidence review on the potential health harms of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products
- The launch of a new QUIT marketing campaign, The Last Stop, by the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme and HSE national communications
- The completion of 7,534 inspections by the Environmental Health Service, with a compliance rate of 86.7%
- The inclusion of information on the dangers of tobacco use in Healthy Choices 1, the first substance misuse module of the Junior Cycle SPHE resource, aimed at first year students
- Increase in price and minimum excise duty on tobacco products for Budget 2021
