Stand around with a group of smokers and you’ll soon hear some version of: “It’s disgusting. I want to quit. I could take a luxury holiday with the money I spend.” Eight out of 10 smokers in Ireland want to quit, four in 10 try in any given year and, of those who try, half succeed after the second attempt, according to the HSE.
Yet despite the general success of the smoking ban, the habit persists, especially in certain age groups. There was a rise in smoking among 15- to 17-year-olds in 2013, to 13 per cent. Smoking is most common among young adults, reaching 31 per cent in the 18-24 age group and 28 per cent among 25- to 34-year-olds.
“We pick where we go in the evenings based on how good the smoking areas are,” says Dominique McMullan, a 26-year-old who started smoking around the time the ban was introduced, in March 2004. “In smoking areas there’s heating, lots of space, good seating, music and bars. Smoking areas are comfy and cosy. The smokers are the fun people, and the smoking areas are the best places in pubs now – often bigger than the inside parts,” she says. “The smoking ban doesn’t discourage smoking. If anything it encourages it.”
Source: Kate Holmquist, Irish Times, 22/03/2011
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