Seán Power
Question:215 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of hospital admissions which are smoking related; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12729/99]
Written Answers. - Smoking Related Diseases.
Seán Power
Question:216 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of people who died in 1998 from smoking related illnesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12730/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 215 and 216 together.
Consumption of tobacco increases the risk of morbidity and mortality from a wide range of illnesses. These include cancers, diseases of the heart and circulatory system, and respiratory conditions. Data on hospital discharges are collected through the hospital in-patient enquiry – HIPE – system which covers all publicly funded acute hospitals and mortality data are collected by the Central Statistics Office. The following table sets out statistics for 1997 showing the number of hospital discharges and the number of deaths registered for conditions regarded as smoking related. Full year data for 1998 are not yet available. A total of 58,397 hospitalisations and 15,961 deaths fall into this category representing 14 per cent of all public acute hospital discharges – overnight in-patients only are included in this category – and 50 per cent of all deaths. Caution should be exercised in the interpretation of these figures since they include all hospitalisations and deaths from the specified illnesses irrespective of whether they were due to smoking.
In the publication Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries 1950-2000 by Richard Peto and others it is estimated that in 1995 20 per cent of all deaths in Ireland could be attributed to smoking. Similar proportions are not available for morbidity, and it is therefore not possible to estimate with any precision the share of hospitalisations for smoking related illnesses which are due either directly or indirectly to smoking.
Number of Discharges from Publicly Funded Acute Hospitals and Number of Deaths Registered for Conditions Regarded as Smoking Related, 1997.
|
Condition |
Number of Discharges |
Number of Deaths* |
|
Ischaemic Heart Disease |
18,542 |
7,359 |
|
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease |
15,801 |
2,003 |
|
Cerebrovascular Disease |
8,734 |
2,759 |
|
Arterial Disease |
3,834 |
746 |
|
Cancer of Trachea, Bronchus and Lung |
2,472 |
1,394 |
|
Condition |
Number of Discharges |
Number of Deaths* |
|
Upper Aero-Digestive Cancer+ |
1,662 |
521 |
|
Cancer of Pancreas |
585 |
364 |
|
Hypertensive Disease |
2,182 |
209 |
|
Gastric, Duodenal and Peptic Ulcers |
1,997 |
198 |
|
Cancer of Bladder and Kidney |
1,783 |
347 |
|
Disease of Pulmonary Circulation |
805 |
61 |
|
Total |
58,397 |
15,961 |
* Provisional figures based on year of registration.
+ Includes Cancers of Mouth, Oesophagus, Pharynx and Larynx.
Source Hospital In-Patient Enquiry and Central Statistics Office.