HIQA has commenced work on an analysis of tobacco affordability in Ireland. This analysis was requested by the Chief Medical Officer and will support the work of the Department of Health.

In this analysis, HIQA will look at how the affordability of tobacco is measured, how affordable tobacco is in Ireland compared with other EU countries and the UK, and whether alternative measures should be used to assess affordability. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is widely used internationally to analyse affordability. However, the use of GDP in affordability analyses may not always be reflective of actual household purchasing power in Ireland.

The affordability of tobacco products plays a key role in the numbers of people taking up smoking and continuing to smoke. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers tobacco taxation that exceeds both inflation and income growth as one of the most effective measures in tobacco control. Alongside other policies such as public health warnings about the dangers of smoking and advertising bans, higher tobacco taxes help to discourage smoking uptake and encourage quitting.

A recent report by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland found that smoking prevalence in Ireland in those aged 15 years or older has shown little change in recent years, remaining at 17% or 18% across the 2019 to 2025 period. While
government taxation has added 24% to the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes since 2020, average weekly earnings have increased by 28% in the same period.

Commenting on the protocol, HIQA’s Deputy Director of Health Technology Assessment, Michelle O’Neill, said:

“We know that as affordability decreases, smoking initiation and tobacco consumption decline and quit attempts increase. In our analysis, we will consider how Ireland compares to other countries in terms of tobacco affordability, and we will consider different affordability indicators such as household disposable income, wage growth, and household expenditure in addition to GDP to get a fuller picture of how affordable tobacco is for the average Irish household.”

A report summarising the findings of the analysis will be finalised and submitted to inform decision-making by the Chief Medical Officer and the Department of Health.

ENDS

Notes:

• HIQA has today published the following document:
  • Protocol for an analysis of tobacco affordability in Ireland (PDF, 414KB)
• Within the WHO’s MPOWER framework, tobacco affordability is measured as the percentage of per capita GDP required to purchase 2,000 factory-made cigarettes of the country’s most sold brand. This is assessed biennially and is used to compare affordability across countries and over time.
• Following a drop in the percentage of current smokers from 23% in 2015 to 17% in 2019, smoking prevalence has remained at 17% or 18% across the 2019 to 2025 period.

About HIQA

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the independent body that promotes safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services in Ireland.

Through its regulation, standard setting and evidence to inform decision-making functions, HIQA supports health and social care services to consistently deliver excellent standards of care and the best possible health and social care outcomes for all.