Mr. Gavin Maguire:

Deputy Mitchell O'Connor asked whether we have engaged with Australia in regard to its experience. We are part of various networks involved in this. Initial research coming from Australia is very encouraging. Australia has seen a decline of approximately 15% in the number of what is described as table displays of cigarettes. This is mostly due to a 23% decline in the percentage of patrons who smoke. What is even more striking is that Australia has noticed that calls to its quit lines soared by 78% for a period shortly after the introduction of the new packaging. Obviously, there is an important relationship between people who make that first contact to a quit line and those who are ultimately successful in quitting tobacco.

The Deputy also mentioned the Department of Health's tobacco free policy document, Tobacco Free Ireland. I was a member of the group that drafted that document and it was our aim to achieve a 5% prevalence of tobacco smoking by 2025. The question was whether we should have an interim staged approach to the implementation of that. The document outlines a broad range of measures designed to get us to that goal and a group is working currently on identifying how the action required should be staged between now and 2025 to get to the 5% prevalence. That work is in progress and is well advanced.

A number of committee members asked why the prevalence of smoking does not seem to be reducing, but we think it is. No single study has monitored this over the years, but the various studies commissioned show a downward trend. For example, the 2007 SLÁN study showed a prevalence of 27% or 28%. Our most recent HSE studies, in 2012, show a prevalence of 22%, down from approximately 24% the previous year. Therefore, we see a downward trend.

We see as equally critical the study of health behaviour of school children. A survey in 2010 showed that overall some 27% of children reported they had smoked at some time. This is a decrease of nine percentage points from 2006. In addition, the survey showed that 12% of children reported they were currently smoking, that is monthly or more frequently. This represents a 3% decline from the 2006 figure.