Roughly 70,000 people have quit smoking during 2014, marking the largest annual drop in smoking in Ireland since 2009. According to the latest stats from the National Tobacco Control Office, the proportion of the population who are smokers reduced by two percentage points over the 12 months, bringing the smokers in Ireland aged 15+ down to 19.5% compared to 21.5% for 2013. The drop marks the largest cut in smokers since 2009, with the national QUIT team service already showing signs of a significant increase in the numbers of smokers who contact their service and then signed up to a 12 month support programme compared to January 2014. Dave Molloy, National Tobacco Lead for the HSE said today: “Smoking prevalence has reduced from 28% in 2003, to just 19.5% at the end of 2014. The drop of 2 percentage points in 2014 is the largest annual drop in prevalence recorded since 2009, and shows that the comprehensive range of tobacco control measures implemented in Ireland are working. “These changes are welcome, but there are still over 700,000 smokers in Ireland, and we see 5,200 tobacco related deaths annually – that’s 15 deaths every day, and 100 families bereaved every week.” If you’d like to kick the habit, visit QUIT.ie for more information, advice and support services.