Smoking rates rise in pandemic after years of decline

Smoking rates increased last year after a long decline, in what may be a short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, new data shows.

The reversal of long-term trends in tobacco consumption appears to be driven by a rise in smoking among middle-aged people, particularly men, as well as increased popularity among teenagers.

Overall, the proportion of people that smoke fell from 23 per cent in 2015 to 18 per cent last year. However, smoking prevalence increased from 17 per cent in 2019 to 18 per cent in 2021.

Researchers say this may be due to the pandemic or may relate to the way the data was collected due to Covid-19, with surveys conducted by phone rather than face to face.

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The gap in smoking rates between socioeconomic groups has widened. There was a twofold difference in rates between the highest and lowest socioeconomic groups in 2015, but by last year this had widened to a threefold difference of 11 per cent against 31 per cent.

People in more deprived areas live four or five years less than those in more affluent areas, and smoking is regarded as responsible for half of this gap.

The use of roll-your-own tobacco has increased steeply over the last decade, says the State of Tobacco Control 2022 report, which is part of the HSE’s Tobacco Free Ireland programme. It found the use of e-cigarette is rising among young people, with 4 per cent of 15-24 year-olds using e-cigarettes last year.

The HSE’s public health specialists want to double down on the progress made by moving from “tobacco control” to a “tobacco endgame”, and claim large public support for such a shift in policy. Four out of five people support the phasing out of tobacco product sales, and seven in 10 believe the minimum age for legal tobacco sales should be raised to 21 years, claims a survey carried out for the Tobacco Free Ireland programme.

There is also widespread public support for reducing the nicotine content in cigarettes and e-cigarettes to make them less addictive, and for making tobacco companies pay the State for the health costs caused by their products.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will tell a conference on Tobacco Free Ireland on Tuesday that smoking still causes too many preventable deaths and significant harm to the health of too many people. However, Mr Martin, who as minister for health introduced the workplace smoking ban in 2004, will stress the importance of “leaving no one behind” in the pursuit of tobacco control.

“We must continue to work together to maintain the progress we have made, ensuring no one is left behind in our goal of a Tobacco Free Ireland.”

HSE public health specialist Dr Paul Kavanagh said it is worrying that smoking has increased in teenagers following a period of historic decline.

“Smoking continues to cause preventable harm on a large scale in Ireland, claiming over 4,500 lives each year. It’s clear that we cannot rest on past success. We need to double down on our efforts if we are to bring the harm caused by smoking to an end in Ireland for everyone.”