Upcoming Events

The 3rd International Conference of the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention .
Madrid June 14-16 2018.

news

  • Tobacco Free Ireland     (‘TFI’), the report of the Tobacco Policy Review Group, was endorsed by Government and published in October 2013. An Action Plan for TFI was published in March 2015 and one of its actions committed the Department of Health to publish an annual report on the implementation of the Plan.Considerable progress was made in 2017 in implementing the Action Plan as set out in detail in the Annual Report. 

  • New Peer reviewed Paper:     Decline of adolescent smoking in Ireland 1995-2015: trend analysis and associated factors   has been published in BMJ Open. Access
 
  • TOB-g project launches its e-learning course  November 2017.   The Tob-g e-course constitutes a key part of this important project. This course is based on the structure and material of the Tob-g guidelines. Its aim is to provide an individualised approach to smoking cessation within five clearly distinctive sub-populations of smokers, who obviously cannot continue to be treated as a single entity. Teenagers, cardiovascular patients, pregnant women, patients with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) belong to clearly distinct groups and reasonably so require a tailored approach to treatment.   Click here to register.​
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  • The first new building to be constructed on the Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegoelearning.tob-g.eu/moodle/login/index.phprman campus has been opened.The Greenway Hub will be home to the institution’s postgraduate researchers as well as those commercialising their research and growing spin-out companies. The 5-storey €17 million euro building will host DIT’s Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) with researchers working in areas like vision science, food and water quality, energy, biomonitoring and diagnostics, and health policy development. More news:  
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  • ESPAD Ireland 2015 published,  20th September, 2016
    Ireland’s 2015 report on the European Schools Project on Alcohol & other Drugs in Ireland (ESPAD)  finds a dramatic reduction in teenage drinking and smoking but concerns over e-cigarettes, drugs and gambling.
    Smoking and drinking among 15-16 year-old school students are falling dramatically, but challenges posed by illicit drug use remain. In this age group, Ireland has much lower levels of drinking, binge drinking and smoking than the European average, but higher use of cannabis, inhalants and other drugs.  Find out more here.
   
  • Professor Clancy warned, 'we urgently need to plan the studies necessary to monitor the effects of Plain Packaging on smoking in adults and children’ ​at the Tobacco Free Island workshop hosted by the IPH on 14th June. 
 
  • A new report from the Institute of Public Health finds that the vast majority of Local Authorities are moving towards  smoke-free playgrounds
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  • Letter in the Irish Times May 19th 2016 from Environmental Health Association Ireland regarding comments of Mr. Finian McGrath who referred to smokers as “soft targets”.
 
  • European Court of Justice upholds Tobacco Products Directive:Great news from the European Court of Justice – all three challenges against the EU Tobacco Products Directive were rejected today May 4th 2016.      The Court rejected the challenge brought by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco which sought to invalidate the TPD as a whole, or alternatively various provisions of the Directive including, inter alia, mandatory large pictorial warnings, the ban on characterising flavours and measures concerning tracking and tracing.
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  • An assessment of the economic costs of smoking in Ireland: Key findings:It is estimated that smoking causes 5,870 deaths per annum with an additional 92 per annum as a result of exposure to second hand smoke (SHS).  This is an increase from an estimated 5,200 deaths per annum previously calculated, the increase is due to more cancers and respiratory diseases being attributable to smoking than heretofore.
    Healthcare costs
    The estimated cost to the healthcare system as a result of smoking is over a half a billion euro (€506 million) as outlined below:
    ·        Hospital based costs €211 million
    ·        Primary care costs €256 million
    ·        Domiciliary care costs €40 million.
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  • The European Parliament is urged to reject the renewal of EU agreement with the tobacco industry.  In Brussels, 9th March 2016 –  MEPs were  asked to vote for or against the 2016/2555 resolution, which firmly encourages the European Commission to cease any agreement or negotiation with Philip Morris International (PMI) to tackle smuggled and illicit tobacco trade. This kind of agreement with the tobacco industry is now in direct conflict with WHO FCTC article 5.3, signed and ratified by the EU, which highly requires all parties to reject any type of partnership and agreement with the tobacco industry.