Smoking in Ireland
In Ireland, smoking is legally allowed but controlled by comprehensive tobacco control regulations. Cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products and are permitted for sale and use with some restrictions. They may be purchased through retail outlets, online platforms, and vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is allowed with a license. However, health warnings on packaging are mandatory, the minimum legal age for purchase is 18 years, and there are legal restrictions on smoking in public places. In addition, a complete ban on all tobacco advertising is in force. Cigarettes in Ireland are subject to an excise tax of 48.53% and a total taxation rate of 76.06%. Despite these regulatory and control measures, smoking continues to contribute to the national health burden. In 2024, there were approximately 730,000 current smokers in Ireland, representing an adult smoking prevalence of 17.2%. In the same year, prevalence was higher among males (20%) than females (14.6%). This prevalence was recorded to be 18.2% in 2022. In 2023, the adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence was 14%, with an estimated 675,956 daily smokers. In 2021, smoking caused 3,836 deaths in Ireland, including 2,291 deaths among males and 1,546 among females. Overall, tobacco smoking resulted in 11.89% of all deaths in 2021, representing 13.62% of male deaths and 10.01% of female deaths. These statistics underscore the continued public health impact of smoking cigarette in Ireland.
Read articles from Ireland
January 04, 2022 by extra.ie
Dozens of shops call on vapers to write to TDs over flavour ban
Dozens of vaping shops are urging customers to write to their local TDs to stop a proposed ban on flavoured vapes.
The campaign comes after the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society urged TDs to use an upcoming tobacco Bill to ban flavours they say are encouraging children to take up vaping.
A search by Extra.ie found Ireland’s largest vaping retailer, Hale, sells bubblegum, cola, rhubarb and custard, cherry bakewell tart, lime ice cream and chocolate mint among other flavours that campaigners say will encourage young people to start smoking.
January 02, 2022 by irishmirror.ie
HSE 'consider ban on the sale of cigarettes' in Ireland after New Zealand crackdown
The HSE is considering a total ban on the sale of tobacco in a bid to bring an end to cigarette smoking in Ireland.
Another strategy under consideration is to reduce the number of shops licensed to sell tobacco products - which are defined as anything containing tobacco for inhaling but does not include e-cigarettes. These are both options being explored by an office of the HSE, according to an The Irish Times report on Thursday.
It reported that the group is looking into making major tobacco companies cover the State's health costs associated with nicotine addiction.
December 31, 2021 by irishtimes.com
For 20 years teenage smoking fell steadily in Ireland. Then along came vaping and it all changed
Shannon D’Arcy (20), from Palmerstown, Co Dublin, started smoking when she was 17. “I was with my friends and I just said, I’ll have one, and it just went on from there.”
She is standing with some other smokers on St Andrew’s Street, in Dublin city centre. School might have been a contributory factor in her developing a nicotine addiction, D’Arcy says.
“I started stress smoking. We’d go out for a break [from school] and have a smoke. Then I started working and getting my own money, and buying my own smokes, and it got even worse then.”
December 01, 2021 by independent.ie
Steep rise in teens using e-cigarettes as girls increasingly turn to the devices
The use of e-cigarettes by Irish teenagers has almost doubled . Research has found vaping has risen rapidly among adolescents with the current number of teenagers using e-cigarettes jumping from 10pc to 18pc between 2015 and 2019.
While e-cigarettes have been used as a technology to help people quit their tobacco habit, there is concern globally about the numbers of non-smoking adolescents taking up vaping.
Experts say the long-term effects are unknown, but there is concern that e-cigarettes are a worrying route into nicotine addiction.
November 18, 2021 by irishmirror.ie
Quitting Smoking: HSE Quit Advisor shares his top advice for would-be quitters
Getting the right support is essential when quitting smoking – very few people can manage it alone.
While family and friends can be a great source of encouragement, the HSE Quit team, with their dedicated Quit Advisors, should be the first stop for any would-be quitter. Anthony, a Waterford-based Quit Advisor, has helped hundreds of people from all walks of life quit cigarettes.
“The thing about smoking,” he says, “is there’s no class. There’s no differentiation – you could be the president or a doctor, young or old, but you’re just addicted to nicotine.
“There’s not many people out there now who actually enjoy smoking and they just do it because they can’t stop.”
November 17, 2021 by irishtimes.com
More restrictions needed on sale of vapes and e-cigarettes, Oireachtas committee told
Nicotine delivery devices such as vapes and e-cigarettes need to face similar sale and advertising restrictions as tobacco products, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.
E-cigarettes are increasingly being marketed towards teenagers, and their colourful packaging and fruity flavours are contributing to the rise in young people vaping, the Oireachtas Health Committee was told.
Chris Macey from the Irish Heart Foundation said that while vaping is less harmful than smoking, its long-term effects were still unclear.
November 04, 2021 by irishexaminer.com
Oireachtas committee warns against banning e-cigarettes
Removing e-cigarettes from sale could have negative consequences for people trying to quit smoking, the Oireachtas Health Committee has heard.
More than one-third of smokers who try to quit using cigarettes opt for e-cigarettes, according to a member of the Department of Health's Tobacco & Alcohol Control unit.
The comment was made as part of a discussion on the new Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, which proposes new retail licensing laws. The legislation will prohibit the sale of tobacco products from temporary premises, and it will also ban the sale of tobacco or nicotine inhaling products by people under 18. [...]
October 13, 2021 by thejournal.ie
Most packets of cigarettes will now cost €15 after 50c tax hike
A PACKET OF cigarettes will now cost an extra 50 cent. The increase was announced this afternoon as part of Budget 2022.
This is the sixth year in a row the excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes has been increased by that amount.
Smokers can now expect to pay €15 for a packet in the most popular price category. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe described the increase as a way of supporting Ireland’s public health policy to reduce smoking in society.
There will be a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products.
The increase is expected to be worth €56 million to the exchequer.
October 11, 2021 by irishexaminer.com
Northern Ireland Health Minister details plans to ban smoking in cars with children present
Health Minister for Northern Ireland Robin Swann has laid out plans to ban smoking in cars when children are present.
Those in breach of the proposed legislation would be liable for fines of £50 (€58.80).
The sale of so-called e-cigarettes to those aged under 18 would also be banned under the proposals.
Mr Swann said: “The use of tobacco continues to be a primary cause of preventable ill health and premature death in Northern Ireland.
September 20, 2021 by miragenews.com
Research reveals increases in smoking and vaping in Irish teens
For the first time in 25 years, rates of smoking among teenage boys in Ireland are increasing, according to a study published in ERJ Open Research. [1]
The study also shows that rates of vaping among teenagers have risen in the last four years and that teenagers who use e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke.
The researchers say their findings indicate that Ireland will not meet its targets to reduce smoking rates and they add to evidence that vaping could be promoting a new generation of young people addicted to nicotine.