Figures revealing a large rise in smoking-related lung cancer in Irish women reaffirm the public support for a ban on smoking in public places, the Minister for Health said today.
The study, published by the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) today, says women find it harder to give up smoking than men and are more likely to relapse after they quit.
Supporting statistics from the National Cancer Registry reveal lung cancer in women is increasing at the rate of 3 per cent a year and that the disease will predominantly affect females by 2020.
Mr Martin said: "The MRBI poll commissioned for this report shows that almost 70% of the people polled said that they would like to see the ban on smoking in the workplace being brought in."
Mr Martin said the ban he planned to introduce on smoking in the workplace reflected this widespread support. "No one can be in any doubt that working to protect employees and the public by creating a smoke free environment in the workplace is a positive goal and that it will result in many benefits for us all and particularly for future generations."
Dr Michael Boland, chairman of the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) said there needs to be a concentrated and focused effort by all of those interested in women's health to develop effective smoking cessation programmes specifically for women.
"When it comes to actually trying to give up, the research shows that women are more likely to try to quit than men but are less successful. For women the key drivers in trying to quit include personal health concerns, price increases, the birth of a child, pregnancy or the death of a family member from a smoking related illness."
Dr Harry Comber, Director of the National Cancer Registry, said smokers had at least as high a rate of relapse and addiction-related mortality as do heroin addicts. They needed the same level of support in fighting their addiction.
Reporting a three per cent increase per annum in lung cancer rates among women, Dr Comber said increases in other cancers would follow the same trend.
"It is ironic that despite a generation of health promotion, this easily preventable cancer still causes more deaths than any other and a loss of 7,000 years of productive and happy life to women in Ireland each year."