These figures are very encouraging.
Today is Ash Wednesday and National No-Smoking Day and as the first day of Lent, it’s often a day when smokers resolve to give up the fags for good, or at least for 40 days.
Those planning on doing so might take some encouragement from HSE figures which revealed that the number of smokers in Ireland dropped by approximately 70,000 last year.
The proportion of the population who are smokers dropped by two percentage points during 2014, with smoking prevalence falling from 21.5% to 19.5% in people aged 15 or over in Ireland.
While the figures are encouraging, the HSE were keen to stress that there are still over 700,000 smokers in Ireland and that 5,200 people die of tobacco-related illnesses on an annual basis.
For more information on the HSE report, click here and if you’re thinking of giving up smoking or looking for help, you can contact the HSE QUIT team by phone on 1800 201 203, by texting QUIT to 50100 (both are free), on their website, on Twitter and on Facebook.
Don’t forget, of course, that our own Eric Lalor is on a mission to give up the fags and he’s been writing about the process. Check it out over here.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
