More women than men now smoke and are heavier smokers, according to the results of a new smoking survey sponsored by Nicorette.
It showed that a third of adults in the State smoked - a six per cent rise in the number of smokers in the past six years. But one of its most significant findings was that 55 per cent of smokers now were women.
The survey also showed a seven per cent increase in the proportion of women who were heavy smokers in the past year. Women now accounted for 51 per cent of heavy smokers, the survey showed.
Dr Luke Clancy, consultant respiratory physician and an antismoking campaigner, said these trends were "really disturbing". He said the increase was inevitable given the increasing trend of more young women smoking and this was extremely worrying.
The survey also suggested that the big increase in the numbers of people commuting to work in Dublin could be linked to the rise in smoking rates.
In the past year the percentage of people who smoke in Leinster, excluding Dublin, increased by five points to 37 per cent, while the percentage of smokers in Dublin remained static at 34 per cent.
Smokers in the Dublin commuter belt also showed the largest increase in heavy smokers - a rise of 22 points in the past year. Dr Clancy said smokers were highly likely to smoke more if they had to spend up to four hours a day in their cars. He also pointed to greater affluence, which made cigarettes more affordable.
Increasing work pressures were also blamed for the rise in smoking rates.
Dr Clancy said these trends were disappointing, given that the rate of smoking had fallen dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s.
He said that if nobody took up smoking from today, it would still take until 2050 for lung cancer rates to fall.
The Nicorette survey also showed that married people were more likely to give up smoking than single people.
Six years ago 67 per cent of smokers were married, while this survey showed that married people now accounted for 54 per cent of smokers.
Dr Mark Rowe, a Waterford-based GP, pointed to the value of using nicotine replacement therapy when giving up smoking. He said heavy smokers who quit using a nicotine microtab were three times more likely to be still off cigarettes six months after quitting than those who used a dummy tablet. Dr Rowe said smokers did not use enough nicotine replacement products when quitting, or did not use them for long enough.
While some people were reluctant to use nicotine replacement products, he said that while nicotine was the substance keeping them addicted to cigarettes, it was the 4,200 other chemicals that caused harm to the body.
He, and other speakers at the survey launch, were critical of the fact that nicotine replacement therapy was not available free of charge for medical card holders. Dr Rowe said this was a major financial barrier to smokers from poorer backgrounds who wished to kick the habit.
He said the plan to include this in the medical card scheme had been with the Government for over a year, but there was no sign of progress being made.
A spokesman for the Minister for Health said Mr Martin had asked the Advisory Forum on the Cardiovascular Strategy to consider this option and was awaiting its response. He said the Minister would make his decision based on the group's recommendations.
Ms Norma Cronin of the Irish Cancer Society encouraged smokers to make use of their GPs, pharmacists and the various helplines and centres to help them stop smoking.
The Irish Cancer Society Quitline can be contacted at 1850 201 203 from Monday to Thursday from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
