One in every two smokers will die of a tobacco related disease and smokers are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as non-smokers.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland with almost 6,000 smokers dying each year from tobacco related disease.

The Irish Heart Foundation is committed to advocating for effective tobacco control policies to reduce the rate of smoking in Ireland and ultimately save lives.

Since the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in 2004, Ireland has led European countries in adopting anti-tobacco legislation.

The efforts of successive governments mean that the adult smoking rate in Ireland has fallen to 17 per cent (down from 23 per cent in 2015).  However, with an estimated 680,000 people in Ireland still smoking, a significant proportion of our society will die due to tobacco related diseases.

Despite the reduction in smoking rates, smoking remains the chief preventable cause of death and chronic disability in Ireland. Therefore, reducing smoking rates and supporting people to stop smoking must be a key focus of health policy.

Our work

At the Irish Heart Foundation, we are committed to making Ireland a tobacco free country for this and all future generations.

We aim to achieve this by advocating for proven and effective policy measures that will help reduce the number of preventable deaths from tobacco use, including:

• Price increases for tobacco products
• Comprehensive smoking cessation programmes
• Stronger smuggling controls
• Smoke-free spaces

E-cigarettes

Electronic or e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly used in Ireland. While we recognise that some adult smokers may use them to help them quit traditional cigarettes, as they are not harm-free we would not recommend their use.

However, the Irish Heart Foundation is concerned about the increased uptake of e-cigarette use among children and young people. Evidence has indicated that e-cigarettes can harm cardiovascular health and can act as a gateway to traditional tobacco use. We aim to prevent adolescents taking up e-cigarettes by advocating for measures, including:

• Ban on under-18-year-olds purchasing and selling e-cigarettes.
• Ban on all forms of e-cigarette advertising, including online.
• Ban on all e-cigarette flavours, except for tobacco flavour

Become an Irish Heart Foundation advocate today 

You can help us push for greater tobacco control measures that will help save lives.

For further information on how to help us advocate for greater change then please contact our Advocacy Officer Mark Murphy on mmurphy@irishheart.ie