The HSE says there are over 1,000 hospital admissions here every week due to smoking.
Today marks World No Tobacco Day, with researching finding one in four men and one in five women still smoke.
Smoking is now most common among young adults.
The HSE says children and young people who smoke experience poorer physical and mental health, with 'social' smoking and 'roll-your-own' emerging as challenges for tobacco control.
Today is #WorldNoTobaccoDay.
Do you know tobacco causes over 1 in 10 heart disease deaths?
Protect your heart and choose health.
Say #NoTobacco ðŸšhttps://t.co/qUUBGEJpyH
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 30, 2018
While over 1,000 people per day are supported by the HSE to quit smoking.
"With more quitters than smokers in Ireland, much progress has been made in reducing smoking prevalence in Ireland but we face new challenges as smoking prevalence has not reduced equally across the population," the HSE says.
Meanwhile the Irish Cancer Society is calling on the Government to make sure medical card holders can get Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NCT) without a prescription.
