The number of people who will attempt to quit smoking looks set to "increase significantly this year", new figures have shown.
However, the Irish Heart Foundation has said that the Government must invest more in helping Ireland’s 700,000 smokers kick the habit.
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy asked Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in a parliamentary question about the "number of persons that have availed of HSE stop smoking classes within each Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) in 2022 and to-date in 2023".
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The HSE responded to the Kildare North TD to say that it runs several courses to help people stop smoking, including the 'We Can Quit' course.
It confirmed that in 2022, some 410 people had availed of HSE-run programmes in a bid to permanently stub out a cigarette.
The highest level of quitters was in CHO7, which encompasses Kildare/West Wicklow, Dublin West, Dublin South City and Dublin South West, where 98 people took part in the 'We Can Quit' course. Another 36 people took part in other HSE courses to stop smoking. In total, 134 people attempted to kick their habit.
This was followed by the Dublin North City area (CHO9), where 132 people took part in the course.
Figures for 2023 show that more people will attempt to stop smoking this year.
As of May 17, some 323 people had already taken part in smoking courses run by the HSE.
Some 158 people in CHO7 have completed courses.
The HSE confirmed to Ms Murphy that all HSE stop smoking courses run for seven to 12 weeks.
"The participants are offered a combination of behavioural support, one-to-one support and stop-smoking medication, which includes varenicline (Champix) or combination nicotine replacement therapy free of charge," the HSE said.
Chris Macey, Director of Advocacy and Patient Support with the Irish Heart Foundation, told The Irish Mirror that it is welcome that the figures suggest that the numbers benefiting from the service will "increase significantly this year".
However, he said that they remain "pitifully small given there are in the region of 700,000 smokers in Ireland".
"At least 70 per cent of them want to quit," he said.
"We need vastly greater investment in this and other services to help smokers kick the habit.
"The State collects in the region of €1 billion a year in extra taxes from smokers but puts back only a little over 1 per cent of that to help them quit.
"The Irish Heart Foundation’s next Budget submission will again call for a quadrupling of current investment in quit services and supports to €50 million at the very least.
"Smokers who want to quit should have the best possible chance of doing so."
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