In 2011, the Irish Cancer Society was shocked to learn that more women in Ireland are now dying from lung cancer than from breast cancer. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of lung cancer. Despite all that is known about the dangers of smoking, almost 1 in 3 women in Ireland smoke. Women and girls in Ireland are in the midst of an epidemic of smoking related disease and the burden of this disease is being carried by women who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

In order to address the crisis of women and smoking, the Irish Cancer Society set out to investigate why such high numbers of women are smoking and what can be done to tackle the problem. This marked the beginning of a collaboration with the National Women’s Council of Ireland, which resulted in the Women and Smoking: Time to Face the Crisis conference. The conference was held in Dublin in July 2012 and brought together policymakers, healthcare professionals, academics, and representatives from women’s groups to explore why women are smoking and how they can be supported to quit.

In order to better understand the attitudes and behaviour of women who smoke, the Society commissioned research into female attitudes to smoking and quitting. The results of the research and the key findings of the conference are summarised in this report.