Smoking is the primary reason for the gap in life expectancy between the social classes and costs "smoker families" more than €2,000 a year, the Irish Cancer Society has said.
Speaking on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), Ms Norma Cronin, a health promotion manager with the Irish Cancer Society, said: "Smoking, which accounts for 7,000 deaths in Ireland, making it the single largest cause of serious illness and preventable and premature death, has also been identified as the primary reason for the gap in healthy life expectancy between social classes."
"This year's WNTD campaign [this year entitled Tobacco and poverty - a vicious circle] is designed to convey the message that smoking is one of the principal causes of inequalities between rich and poor.
Ms Norma Cronin, Irish Cancer Society
"Smoking prevalence is now higher among the lower socio-economic groups and the expenditure on tobacco, together with the disease and health care costs associated with it, worsen poverty both on an individual and national level," she said.
The Irish Cancer Society said that buying a packet of cigarettes each day could cost a family €2,190 a year. Around 27 per cent of the Irish population smokes, but the patterns of smoking have changed considerably, according to the Society.
People in the lowest socio-economic groups are now more likely to smoke than those on higher incomes. The highest smoking rates are among young people - some 37 per cent of boys aged 15-17 smoke and 36 per cent of girls in the lower socio-economic groups are smokers. Expenditure on tobacco in Ireland is around €1.9 billion a year.
Smoking kills one in ten adults worldwide (about five million deaths each year) and if current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2025. Half the people that smoke today - that is about 650 million people - will eventually be killed by tobacco, according to the World Health Organization.
The EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne, together with UEFA, announced a symbolic smoke-free day at the Euro 2004 championships fixture between France and England on June 13th.