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Under the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act which came into law in March 2015, cigarettes and tobacco products will be sold in plain packaging in Ireland as of today.

Following in the footsteps of the UK, Australia and France, cigarettes manufactured from today in Ireland must be in packages devoid of logos, trademarks, colours and graphics.

The measure, which is an attempt to reduce the number of people smoking in this country, does allow for brand promotion, but only with the appearance of the brand name in uniform font and colour.

The measure, which has been criticised by pro-smokers group Forest Ireland, allows for a transition period meaning that stock manufactured up to today's date may be sold for one more year.

However, stock manufactured from today onwards must be in plain packaging
 

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Remember when the legal age to buy cigarettes in Ireland was just 16?! If you're over 25, you may remember when smoking in school toilets at secondary school was the norm.

It seems ludicrous now, but until March 2002, a 16-year-old could buy tobacco products easily. These days, things have changed for the better!

Ireland has always led the way in anti-smoking policies, becoming the first country to make smoking in the workplace illegal, in 2004.

Subsequently, Irish pubs became smoke-free, as smokers were banished to designated smoking areas. Although there were complaints at the time, the legislation worked, and our pubs are now much more pleasant places.

Packets of 10 cigarettes were abolished in 2009, to discourage young people from buying the smaller, cheaper packets.

Tax on cigarettes has steadily increased also, leading to a higher retail price.

The average price of 20 cigarettes is now €11 – more expensive than ever.

With a packet costing more than one hour's minimum wage, it's not an affordable habit for most young people – or anyone on a low income!

There are better ways to spend your money than watching it go up in smoke…literally!

Donal Buggy, Head of Services and Advocacy from the Irish Cancer Society, says: "We do know increasing the price of cigarettes through taxation works, it's been proven globally."

"But we still need a combination of measures to tackle smoking, including education and limiting availability."

He explains that taxing cigarettes is not an easy target for revenue: "The Department of Health produced a report in 2013 that proves tobacco is costing us more than what revenue can collect."

When James Reilly became Minister for Health, he aimed to make Ireland smoke-free by 2025. This will be "really challenging", according to Donal Buggy.

He explains that preventing young people from taking up smoking is crucial: "85 percent of smokers start before the age of 18. If we can significantly reduce the number of smokers under 18, it would be an improvement."

"There has already been a 10 percent reduction in school-age children, which is great."

A plan for plain packaging on tobacco products is expected to be enforced by May of this year, devoid of imagery and marketing apart from the brand name

And those gruesome photos of tumours on the packet? They're yet another public measure to deter people from taking up the disgusting habit. 

TV ads and even shop displays advertising tobacco products are now illegal. In 2014, a bill was passed to ban smoking in a private car where children are present.

Quitting the deadly habit requires tremendous willpower and determination. The HSE offers a free service, QUIT.ie, to provide help and support to those who want to quit smoking for good. They also run campaigns to deter would-be smokers from starting.

Quit.ie says smoking places an enormous strain our health services, with over 5,000 Irish people dying annually from the effects of smoking.

We can't ignore the sober reality- one in two Irish smokers will die of a tobacco-related disease. 

Those who are attempting to stop smoking are more successful when they have a plan and support in place. For more information, check out QUIT.ie.

Smokers with a medical card can avail of free nicotine replacement aids to help them quit.

We're lucky to live in a country which puts health first, and the smoking ban definitely did that!

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Vaping has become a trendy take on smoking, and with January resolutions to quit smoking just about wavering, it might seem like a good idea to try vaping.

Vaping, for those not in the know, is the process of inhaling nicotine-laced chemical compounds through an electric cigarette, which superheats the vape liquid to create the faux-smoke.

There are nicotine free versions and a variety of flavours, from blueberry bubblegum to oatmeal and raisin.

Vaping has gotten a bit of a bad wrap lately, with allegations of shoddy craftsmanship causing E-Cigs to explode in peoples faces (warning, graphic content) and start fires in people homes.

The companies have also been accused of appealing to children with their fruity flavours.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last year which found that e-cig use had tripled in the past year among middle and high school students.   

A photo posted by Ko Za (@ko.za89) on

The cigs were mostly unregulated for a long time, but in May 2016 the European Union imposed standardised controls on liquids and vaporiser cigarettes across the EU as well as making the disclosure of ingredients in vaping liquids a requirement.

Child-proofing and tamper-proofing for liquid packaging was also made a requirement.

The danger with E-cigarettes is that you don’t actually know exactly what’s in the liquid cartridges.

A photo posted by Vaping360 (@vaping360) on

According to the American Lung Association, they “don’t presently know what is in e-cigarettes. However, in initial lab tests conducted in 2009 the FDA found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges.”

There are also dangers as the liquid heats up to vaporised, which can create new chemical concoctions that you are then inhaling so you think you are ok when in fact, you just don’t know.

“To use an e-cigarette, you load the liquid and apply electricity, heating the liquid until it vaporizes. At this temperature, the chemicals inside the fluid undergo a breakdown process and are converted into other chemicals,” according to neurologist Dr Karl Perlmutter.

“When the e-cigarette liquid broke down, it produced both formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing agents, a known carcinogen.”

The U.S. Surgeon General found that e-cigarettes can expose users to several potentially harmful chemicals, including nicotine, carbonyl compounds and “volatile organic compounds” .

Research into the brand is a must, as according to Cancer.net: “E-cigarettes may contain harmful substances. However, the types or concentrations of chemicals, including nicotine, vary based on the brand.”

So while vaping doesn’t have as many cancer-causing compounds as smoking, it’s still not 100 percent safe.

Either way you choose to look at it, the best substance to smoke is usually nothing at all.

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Whether you started smoking in college or you're a life-long pack-a-day person, quitting the habit can be really tough.

It's going to be a process, but once you have the right game plan and will power, you can kick the habit for good.

Many people are fond of the START method, so hopefully by following this plan, you'll have a cigarette-free 2017.

Image result for stubbing out cigarette gif

S – Set a quit date

First, choose a quit date. Try pick a date within the next two weeks so you can prepare yourself enough, yet, you won't lose your motivation.

If you normally smoke a lot when in work, try pick a weekend to quit so you have a day or two to get used to it.

Image result for scrubs it's over gif

 

T – Tell your friends, family and co-workers

By telling people that are close to you, you will be able to get their encouragement and support, as well as give yourself a little bit of motivation.

And if possible, try find a quit buddy so you can go through the motions together.

Image result for we're all in this together gif

 

A – Anticipate the challenges

On average, people who begin to smoke again do so within the first three months of quitting.

Prepare for the challenges, prepare for the drawbacks and prepare for the cravings. So many cravings.

Image result for cravings gif

 

R – Remove cigarettes, tobacco and all other products

Remove them from your home, work, and your car. If your sitting in rush hour traffic and find a cigarette in the glove box, it'll be a mighty temptation.

And freshen everything up too; wash your clothes, clean your curtains, steam your furniture.

Image result for be gone gif

 

T – Talk to your doctor

Your doctor will be able to prescribe medication to help with any withdrawals you might have.

If you're not able to get to your doctor, a simple chat with your local pharmacist on whether you should take any nicotine gum or lozenges will help massively.

Image result for what up doc gif

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With his ten-month world tour almost over, Ed Sheeran is finally planning to get some sense of normality back in his life.

First up on his list of things to work on is quitting smoking. The singer says his habit has only gotten worse over the last year, and this month he's decided to quit for good.

"The reason I kind of liked smoking so much was just it was a routine," he told Ellen DeGeneres yesterday.

"Do a soundcheck, have a cigarette, do a gig, have a cigarette, have food, have a cigarette… now I'm not going to be touring and working for a while."

Although he started smoking in his early teens, Ed says he never considered himself "a smoker" until he realised he'd been doing it for a decade.

"I started smoking when I was younger and I’d always say, like ‘I’m gonna quit. I’m gonna quit'

"And then, 'Oh well, I haven’t been smoking for that long. It’s been, what, four years like that…' and then when it got to 10 years, I was like, 'Oh… I’m probably getting to the point of no return here.'"

Having given up both cigarettes and alcohol for a year back in 2011, the Thinking Out Loud hitmaker is hoping he has what it takes to quit smoking for good – though so far it's only been ten days.

"It's cold turkey," he told Ellen.

Ed has been open about his drug and alcohol use in the past, and though he has dabbled in hard drugs and marijuana he says it's not a frequent thing.

"There have been a couple of times over the past few years, but it’s not a regular thing," he said of his drug use last year.

"It happens when I’m under an immense amount of stress and pressure, and things just build up. But it’s not as dark as people make out. It’s educational."

Of course, he did admit in a previous 2014 interview that he once "fell in love with a beanbag" while taking ecstasy in Ibiza and ended up ordering six of them online. Sounds very educational to us…

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Campaigners have called for the food industry to be given stricter rules – as global obesity is growing at a super fast rate.

The campaigners say that obesity actually poses a greater global risk than cigarettes.

The two organisations – Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation – say governments around the world should impose compulsory rules for the food industry.

These could include pictures on food packaging of damage caused by obesity, similar to those on cigarette packets.

They say new rules could include reducing the levels of salt, saturated fat and sugar in food, improving food served in hospitals and schools, imposing stricter advertising controls, and educating the public about healthy eating.

Governments could review food prices, introduce taxes, change licensing controls and start new research to make this happen, the groups argue.

Advertising to young people during TV programmes such as the X-Factor, must also be restricted, they say.

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A lot of people think that the occasional smoke will have little effect on their body, but boy are they wrong….

New research found that smoking as little as 100 fags in a lifetime can increases a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer by 30%.

They also discovered that smoking a packet a day every day for 10 years will make a woman 60% more likely to develop the most common type of breast cancer- the oestrogen receptor-positive type.

“I think there is growing evidence that breast cancer is another health hazard associated with smoking,’ said the leader of the study.

They believe this could be because the substances in cigarettes act like oestrogen, which would promote the growth of the most common type of breast cancer.

With these alarming figures, we think it might be time to dump those packets in the bin.

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