February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The statistics show that in 2000, Irish people spent euro 1.9 billion on tobacco products, which is more than they spent on gasoline, electricity, coal, peat and oil combined.
About 7,000 people die annually from tobacco-related illnesses. ESRI noted that unlike other countries, almost no research has been conducted on the use and marketing of tobacco.
The statistics revealed that increasing the cost of cigarettes had a marked effect on how much people smoked and how often they smoked.
People on low incomes are 50 percent more likely to smoke than higher income brackets, the report continued.
The report also concluded that more research was needed to determine the effectiveness of successive anti-smoking campaigns. The report can be read online at www.esri.ie.