Brenda Flannery Norma Cronin 6 th May 2010 Update on the National Smokers Quitline and Tobacco Control in Ireland

National Smokers Quitline First established by the Irish Cancer Society in 1999 Re-launched in 2003 Funded by the Health Services Executive and managed by the Irish Cancer Society

National Smoker’s Quitline Staffed by trained smoking cessation advisors at a call centre provider Advisors provide reactive support to callers Monday – Saturday from 08:00 – 22:00hrs Counsellors available for reactive and proactive support Monday 09:00 – 19:00hrs Tuesday – Thursday 09:00 – 17:00hrs

Advisor’s Role Provide reactive service Advice and support to caller Send out a Quitting booklet Transfer call live to a counsellor or arrange a call-back from a counsellor Refer to GP or Pharmacist when appropriate. Refer to Smoking Cessation Facilitators in their local Health Board areas for one-to-one support and smoking cessation courses.

Protocol for Advisors The caller is assessed based on Prochaska & Di Clemente stages of change model Assessment of nicotine dependency Stage specific intervention is made by the advisor Quitting methods are discussed Smoking cessation information is sent to callers All calls are registered outlining callers smoking profile

Counsellors’ Role Offer advice and support to those in the quitting process and referral to local Health Service Executive services. Quitline counselling protocol Follow on support once a caller has quit with - 4 calls over the first 6 weeks - One call at three months - One call at six months - One call at one year

Call Volume ,000 people called Quitline ,000 calls were received

6 Month Evaluation of Quitline Conducted by Behaviour and Attitudes on behalf of Irish Cancer Society and Health Promotion Unit, Dept of Health Six months from Nov 03 to Apr 04 Almost 7,000 (33%) quit 72% has attempted to quit on at least one occasion Average period off cigarettes is around 21 weeks

1 Year Evaluation of Quitline 4,350 people (22%) had achieved ultimate success (had not had a cigarette for one year) 60% of those who quit say the Quitline was either a significant or an important aspect of helping them stay off

Progress in Legislation Legislation removing point of sale advertising and display of tobacco products at retail outlets and licensed premises came into effect on 1 st July 2009 Research carried out by OTC in late 2009 showed that 98% of stores are compliant with the legislation prohibiting tobacco advertising and 97% are compliant with the legislation regarding the display of cigarettes for sale in-store A National Register of Tobacco Retailers for persons selling tobacco products came into effect on 1 st July 2009

Progress on Legislation Smoke-free workplaces continue to enjoy widespread support and compliance National Tobacco Retail Audit Monitoring report showed that the % of retailers refusing to sell cigarettes to under 18 year olds has increased by 8 points to 68%. This compares to a 60% refusal rate in 2008 and 52% in 2007 First voluntary smoke free stadium GAA match was held as part of the Ulster GAA championship. The event was a success demonstrating strong public support for the measure

THANK YOU Irish Cancer Society