HSE urges smokers to ‘take back control’ with free nicotine replacement

The HSE Quit Service is urging smokers to quit, offering free and personalised support with the help of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

Healthy Ireland Survey Results 2023 data shows that 18 per cent of the population are current smokers, with 14 per cent daily smokers and 4 per cent occasional smokers.

Dr Paul Kavanagh, HSE Public Health Medicine Consultant Lead with the Tobacco Free Ireland Programme, explains how NRT is safe and effective and is a regulated medicinal product overseen by the Health Products Regulatory Agency (HPRA) in Ireland.

“We have been working hard to improve access and availability of this life-saving medicine. People who smoke and who want to stop, and healthcare professionals who are supporting them, can have full trust and confidence in the safety and effectiveness of NRT,” he said.

Smoking is higher amongst men, at 21 per cent, followed by women, at 15 per cent. The smoking rate is higher amongst those who are unemployed or have not completed the Leaving Certificate.

Pat O’Callaghan, who smoked for more than 40 years, speaks about how the HSE Quit service helped him finally quit for good.

“What I found most helpful with the Quit service was the one-to-one chats I had with my HSE Stop Smoking Advisor. This gave me an accountability and purpose that the other programmes just didn’t really have.

“I used the NRT inhaler which helped me massively as I really didn’t want to go for vapes as a crutch. I reduced the number of cartridges in the inhaler over a number of weeks and now I sometimes use an inhaler even without any nicotine, just out of habit.

“Since quitting I’ve started motivating others around me, I had made a €200 bet with my brother-in-law to quit smoking, he has recently relapsed but we’ve gone double or nothing and I can hand on heart say that I hope I lose €400 in the new year,” he said.

Data reveals that 33 per cent of the population are ex-smokers, 49 per cent of those have attempted to quit smoking, with 23 per cent of this group successfully quit smoking.

Martina Blake, National Lead, HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme, explained that a smoker is five times more likely to quit for good by stopping smoking for 28 days.

“The hardest piece of this process is making the decision to quit in the first place. Our staff can help you assess your daily routine and smoking pattern. They will help to build your confidence and motivation, assess your nicotine dependence through a simple breath test and then arrange free medication for you,” she concluded.