Our health is going up in smoke

SMOKING is one of the biggest causes of cancer in Ireland – yet we’re still puffing away seemingly oblivious to the dangers.

Dr Paul Kavanagh, an adviser to the HSE’S Quit programme, is right when he says the number of addicts is still high.

One in five of us aged 15 or over smoke regularly – and this really is serious cause for concern, especially in 2019.

And the fact this figure increases to one in three of 25 to 34-year-olds is even more worrying, as this group is old enough to know better.

The good news is there are less nicotine addicts now than 20 years ago when one in three people smoked.

The New Year is the time when many try to stamp out the killer habit – half a million people will try to quit this year.

But Dr Kavanagh says most will try to go it alone, and go cold turkey, when they could avail of help.

The HSE has free and easily accessible support services across the country that work.

They’re available online, over the telephone and face-to-face.

There are stop-smoking medications too and nicotine patches and chewing gum to help stop the terrible addiction.

So if you or a loved one are trying to quit, try one of the services and you could double your chances of kicking the habit for good.