Current smokers in Ireland are costing the healthcare system approximately €20.2 billion, while facing the loss of nearly five million years of life and 2.5 million years of productivity, according to a major new study.
Researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences analyzed the long-term health and societal impacts of tobacco smoking using 2022 data tracking smokers aged 15 to 85. The study, funded by the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland programme, paints a stark picture of smoking’s devastating consequences.
The research estimates that current smokers will spend a total of 5.9 million years living with smoking-related chronic diseases including lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
At an individual level, the impact is equally alarming. A 20-year-old man who smokes daily can expect to lose eight years of life and more than eight years of productivity, while incurring an additional €28,000 in healthcare costs over his lifetime compared to a non-smoker.
Associate Professor Frank Doyle from RCSI’s Department of Health Psychology emphasized the urgency of action, noting that Ireland was one of the first countries to commit to reducing smoking to 5% by 2025.
“There is an urgent need to reinvigorate the national tobacco policy discourse and re-focus policymakers on achieving this goal, as this research shows the costs of inaction both in lives lost and the billions of euros it will cost our health system and economy,” Doyle said.
Dr Paul Kavanagh, Public Health Advisor to the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme, described smoking as “the greatest challenge facing population health in Ireland,” highlighting how the impact extends beyond health to economic productivity.
With smoking reduction rates stalling, experts are calling for strengthened measures including increased tobacco taxation, accessible stop-smoking support, and a new comprehensive Tobacco Free Ireland plan.