Serious concern has been expressed about the high number of female smokers in Ireland.

According to a new Irish Cancer Society (ICS) report, almost one in three Irish women smoke and among younger and more disadvantaged women, this figure rises to one in two.

The report, Women and Smoking: Time to Face the Crisis, is based on the findings of a major ICS conference held last summer in association with the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI).

According to the ICS's head of communications, Kathleen O'Meara, this issue is a major cause of concern, particularly as lung cancer has now overtaken breast cancer as the main cancer killer of women in Ireland.

"We know that more than two-thirds of smokers want to quit, but this report shows that there are social and psychological reasons which make it hard for women to quit. Many women are aware of the health risks of smoking, but see it as a way to cope with the stress and pressures of life," Ms O'Meara explained.

She noted that for some, smoking is also an ‘important part of life in the community they live in'.

"It gives women a very important sense of belonging to a group and the support that goes with it. If we are to support these women to quit smoking, which could save their lives, we need to recognise this and find ways to have communities be supportive places for women to quit smoking," she said.

Meanwhile according to NWCI director, Orla O'Connor, the findings of this report show that the reasons why women begin and continue to smoke ‘are linked to their gender and gender inequalities in our society'.

"We need a national strategy that takes differences between women and men in relation to smoking into account. The strategy should address crucial issues such as standards for cessation services, the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products and the development of community-based smoking cessation services for women, in particular for women from disadvantaged communities," Ms O'Connor added.

For more information on quitting smoking, call the National Smokers' Quitline at 1850 201 203 or log onto www.quit.ie