Ireland risks missing its ‘tobacco-free’ target date by 27 years, according to a story by John Downing at independent.ie citing a warning by the country’s Health Service Executive (HSE).
The predicted delay is said to be putting new pressure on Health Minister Simon Harris to soften his stance on electronic cigarettes to help more smokers quit.
The Government is committed to being ‘tobacco-free’ – with less than five percent of the population still smoking – by 2025.
But an HSE report says that, based on current trends, this target will not be met until 2052.
At present, 18 percent of Irish people smoke daily.
Smoking – directly and passively – is said to be responsible for 100 deaths and more than 1,000 hospital episodes every week across the country.
‘More of the same may not be enough to affect the step change required to move to the end game,’ the HSE report says.
Fine Gael’s Senator Catherine Noone said the report concluded that Ireland should “continue to scan the horizon to understand and determine policy on the role of e-cigarettes and other new technologies and opportunities for the tobacco end game in Ireland”.
She added that using e-cigarettes was “very far from ideal” but may be a “least-worst option”.
Looking again at that map
