People attempting to quit smoking need more targeted supports, particularly those living in low-income areas, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has said.

It was responding to the findings of a major new survey carried out by the Department of Health, which revealed that 19% of adults now smoke on a daily basis and among these, most want to quit.

According to the Health Ireland survey, 11% of current smokers are actively trying to quit, 21% are planning to quit and 31% are thinking about quitting.

"Quitting smoking is difficult. The Healthy Ireland report states that 45% of all smokers in Ireland have tried to quit in the past year without success. We need the right supports in the right areas. We want the HSE and the Department of Health to develop their thinking beyond the existing supports," commented Kathleen O'Meara of the ICS.

She pointed to the ‘We Can Quit' pilot project which was launched in Dublin's Blanchardstown last May. The project was developed by the ICS and it provides female smokers with group and one-to-one support from trained community facilitators.

Participants can also access nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) free of charge from their local pharmacy.

The ICS noted that when it comes to quitting smoking, there still appears to be a class divide, with people from poorer socioeconomic areas much more likely to smoke than people from more affluent areas.

"We Can Quit works because it is targeted at women smokers who may not have access to the same supports as smokers in other areas. The results of the pilot project are encouraging and we have been urging the HSE, who have been supportive of this work, to use this model nationwide," Ms O'Meara noted.

She also urged the Government to take into account the ICS's pre-budget submission, which calls for a 50 cent hike on a packet of cigarettes and a guarantee that a proportion of the tax take from tobacco is spent on smoking cessation services.

"Price is the single biggest factor in encouraging someone to quit. It's partly the reason why we have seen such a drop in the number of people smoking. But we need to maintain the momentum. As well as committing a proportion of the tax take to quit supports, we also want nicotine replacement therapies to be free for those smokers who sign up to a quit programme such as We Can Quit," Ms O'Meara explained.

The Department of Health has set an ambitious target of having less than 5% of adults smoking by 2025, however according to the ICS, if it is to achieve this, ‘innovative, courageous thinking' among all those involved is required.

For more information on quitting smoking, call the HSE Quitline on 1800 201 203 or click here