Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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526. To ask the Minister for Health his view on the effectiveness of anti-smoking initiatives taken to date, given that the smoking ban, the ban on packaging of ten cigarettes and the non-display of cigarettes in outlets appear to have had minimal effect on the rates of smoking; the way he envisages that plain packaging will lead to a significant reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28220/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Ireland's policy on smoking is to promote and subsequently move toward a tobacco free society. Contrary to the Deputy's assertion, the cumulative effect of Ireland's tobacco control legislation to date has been a decrease in the number of people smoking. In 2013, the National Tobacco Control Office reported that 21.5% of Irish adults smoked (22.9% men and 20.2% women). This represents a decline of 2.2% since 2010, and a decline of 7.5% since 2007 when the last comprehensive large scale study on smoking prevalence in Ireland was undertaken (SLAN study).

Two of the initiatives specifically mentioned by the Deputy, the ban on packets containing less than 20 cigarettes and the ban on the display and advertising of tobacco products, were specifically aimed at young people and the research bears out their success. Data on smoking among school-aged children indicates a clear downward trend. The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (2010) found that 27% of children reported that they had ever smoked tobacco - a 9% decrease from the 2006 Survey. There was a reduction of 9.2% in the number of children who said they were current smokers; 80% of 15 to 17 year olds said they do notsmoke and nearly 90% of 12 to 17 year olds do notsmoke.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that ten years after the ban on smoking in the workplace, there is now concrete evidence of its effectiveness. Research has found that the ban resulted in 3,726 fewer smoking related deaths than would have been expected if the ban had not been brought in. The smoking ban was also associated with a number of immediate reductions in ill-health in the general population

- an immediate 13% decrease in all-cause mortality

- a 26% reduction in ischaemic heart disease

- a 32% reduction in stroke, and

- a 38% reduction in COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

It is important to state that the introduction of standardised packaging is just one of a suite of measures that are being and will be implemented in Ireland to reduce the number of people smoking and as such this initiative should not be looked at in isolation. Tobacco Free Ireland, the latest policy document in the area, sets a target for Ireland to be tobacco free by 2025. In practice, this will mean a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5%. Tobacco Free Irelandaddresses a range of tobacco control issues and initiatives and contains over 60 recommendations, including the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products. I am confident that the measures outlined in Tobacco Free Irelandwill further reduce the numbers of people, young and old, smoking in Ireland.