Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 200: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her proposals to tackle the serious problem of smoking among young people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29836/05]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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It is important that smoking prevalence and particularly smoking by young persons is tackled in a comprehensive manner. This includes legislation, regulation, health promotion and education.

The national health and lifestyle survey, Slán, published in 1999 revealed a worrying trend in that 36% of teenage girls in the 15 to 17 year old age group smoked. This figure exceeded that of young boys in the same age group which stood at 30%. In response to this trend the health promotion unit of my Department launched a campaign specifically aimed at young women.

The campaign, entitled "Nico", concentrated on issues which are more immediately important to young women, such as their appearance. The simple message of this campaign is that smokers are less attractive and it used a range of 'anti-cosmetics' presented by a character called Nico. The Nico campaign used TV, radio and outdoor advertising. The advertisement was evaluated and achieved unprecedented recognition and awareness scores amongst the smoking population.

A second advertisement, "Nico's crib", was developed and launched in 2004 and is aimed at young people in general. The advertisement is based on the MTV hit programme called "Cribs" which is popular with young viewers. The advertisement has been broadcast primarily in cinemas and was supported by TV bursts and a promotional campaign.

The 2002 Slán results were published in 2003. Nationally smoking prevalence has decreased from 31% to 27%. Numbers of those in the 12 to 14 year old age group showed a sharp decrease in smoking prevalence, a critical point for intervention to prevent initiation. Numbers of young women in the 15 to 17 year old age group have also decreased by almost 5% and young men in the same age group have decreased slightly.

The tobacco free policy review group was set up to carry out a fundamental review of health and tobacco and make recommendations to the Minister for Health and Children. Its report, Towards a Tobacco Free Society, which was adopted as Government policy, proposed an integrated strategy for tackling the tobacco problem and promoting a tobacco free society. The report outlines four key strategic objectives: to change attitudes; to help people give up smoking; to protect people from passive smoke; and to focus on children. The establishment of the Office of Tobacco Control is one of the measures put forward in the report. The office received statutory status in May 2002, with the enactment of section 2 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002.

In response to an Office of Tobacco Control report which documented the dangers of passive smoke, the Minister for Health and Children announced a prohibition on smoking in all places of work, including licensed premises, with effect from 29 March 2004.

The "Every Cigarette is Doing You Damage" media campaign, together with the introduction of the ban on smoking in the workplace, increased the demand for smoking cessation services both nationally and regionally. The national smokers' quitline and media campaign were launched on 30 October 2003. To date 34,500 callers have used the quitline. Half of the callers have received the quitting booklet, which contains tips and information to encourage smokers to quit. People under 30 account for almost 30% of the callers who contact the quitline.

In a recent survey 71% of clients who had quit stated that the national smokers' quitline was an important aspect of or significant help in keeping them off cigarettes. Similarly 60% stated that the workplace ban was an important aspect of or significant help in keeping them off cigarettes.

The cardiovascular strategy recommended that an annual module on smoking should be included in the social personal and health education programme, SPHE, in schools. Smoking is included in a SPHE module, which also addresses alcohol and drugs. The aim of the SPHE programme is to educate and empower young people to make good health and lifestyle choices. An evaluation of the programme highlighted the need to update the SPHE modules in response to the evolving requirements of schoolchildren, who now need more information at a younger age.

A recent survey from the Office of Tobacco Control revealed that the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking in Ireland was 23.6% at August 2005. This represents a decline of 1.52% since August 2003.

The survey also revealed that almost 18% of 15 to 18 year olds report as being smokers with 19 to 35 years olds being the dominant category with over 30% of people in that age group classified as smokers. While these statistics are encouraging my Department will strive to reduce these figures further by continuing to discourage young people from starting smoking and ensuring that adequate information and support is available for those wishing to quit.