Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 16 Dec 1997

Vol. 485 No. 2

Written Answers. - Policy on Smoking.

Tom Enright

Ceist:

233 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Health and Children the action, if any, he is taking to reduce the number of deaths, both from cancer and other diseases, estimated at 6,000 per year, which are directly attributable to smoking. [23116/97]

Tom Enright

Ceist:

234 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals or plans, if any, he has to help reduce the number of deaths taking place each year from smoking. [23117/97]

Tom Enright

Ceist:

235 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, his Department has particularly focused on young school-going pupils who are particularly impressionable and are being bombarded with advertising campaigns from cigarette companies. [23118/97]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 233, 234 and 235 together.

Smoking prevalence in Ireland has fallen substantially over the past 20 years and my Department is committed to continuing this trend. This will be effected primarily by way of a combination of health promotion and regulatory measures to advertising, sponsorship and restrictions on smoking in certain public places.

My Department continues to target young people in particular as is evident from the Health Promotion Unit's most recent multi-media antismoking campaign, "Say what you like — smoking kills". This campaign used a degree of dark humour to encourage smokers to question their reasons for smoking, encouraging them to quit the habit and used television, radio, outdoor and print advertising. Results of an evaluation of the campaign suggest an encouragingly high level of awareness of the message. However, it is important to recognise that even the most creative multi-media campaign cannot, by itself, dissuade people from smoking or encourage smokers to quit. It is only through a concerted effort involving both statutory and non-statutory groups with an interest in this area that a reduction in the incidence of smoking can be achieved. Accordingly initiatives such as this form part of an ongoing, wider programme to reduce smoking prevalence. These efforts include joint initiatives with the health boards and voluntary organisations such as the Irish Cancer Society which seeks to prevent people from taking up smoking in the first place.

Examples of this process as it applies to young people can be seen in my Department's two schools programmes. The smoking reduction action programme (SCRAP) is a peer-led antismoking programme for schools which was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the Irish Cancer Society, the National Youth Federation and with support from the Department of Education. Materials were distributed on a widespread basis in 1995 for use as support resources in the junior classes in secondary schools. The "Smoke-busters" project was developed by the Irish Cancer Society, the Departments of Health and Education and the Eastern Health Board. It is aimed at primary school children (11 years) in an urban environment.

Stopping smoking is one of the most immediate and worthwhile contributions anyone can make to the improvement of health, both on an individual and on a collective level. Obviously, preventing young people from taking up smoking is preferable and my Department will continue its work in this area. It is essential that the downward trend in the incidence of smoking continues and my Department is working to ensure this decline persists through a combination of health education, health promotion and legislation.

Tom Enright

Ceist:

236 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will issue, in the form of a tabular statement, the number of people who have died from cancer and other diseases directly attributable to smoking in each of the years 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995. [23119/97]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

Data for Ireland on the estimated number of deaths directly attributable to smoking are contained in the publication. "Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries, 1950-2000" by Richard Peto and others. Figures are only available for the years 1975, 1985, 1990 and 1995 and are reproduced in the following table. The estimates are based on an indirect method which uses the results of epidemiological studies of mortality in smokers versus non-smokers in the United States to assign proportions of total mortality due to tobacco for each relevant cause of death.

Estimated Number of Deaths Attributed to Smoking 1975, 1985, 1990 and 1995

Cause of Death	1975	1985	1990	1995
Lung Cancer	1,028	1,363	1,351	1,318
Upper Aero-Digestive Cancer*	202	256	265	274
Other Cancers	317	410	442	455
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	1,146	1,517	1,463	1,378
Other Respiratory Diseases	210	302	300	275
Vascular Disease	2,075	2,494	2,116	1,702
Other Medical Causes	378	459	480	479
Total	5,356	6,801	6,417	5,881

* Includes Cancers of the Mouth, Oesophagus, Pharynx and Larynx.

Source: Peto, R. et al. "Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries, 1950-2000".