Teenagers are "fighting back" against big tobacco companies, with only about one-in-eight now lighting up, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has said.
Their remarks came ahead of the X-Hale Film Festival, for which young people produced dozens of short movies about cigarette use.
"We know that the tobacco industry needs to target teenagers to replace the smokers who have already died from their addiction or who have quit," said Kevin O'Hagan of the ICS.
"The X-Hale Film Festival gives the next generation the opportunity to fight back and they have certainly done that via the 47 films which have been showcased.
Death
"Currently, 5,500 smokers a year die from tobacco related illnesses. These youth groups have sent a rallying call to their peers and to Government to ensure that their generation won't follow this same path of premature death.
"They want to smoke out big tobacco from this country for good," he added.
In 1998, some 21.2pc of young people were smokers compared to 11.9pc in 2010, data from Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) shows.
Source: Cormac Murphy, Evening herald, 02/07/14
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