Healthy Ireland Survey 2018

The Healthy Ireland Survey 2018 provides an overview of results from the fourth wave of the Healthy Ireland Survey, an annual interviewer administered face-to-face survey commissioned by the Department of Health.

• 20% are current smokers. 17% smoke daily and 3% smoke occasionally
• prevalence of smoking has declined from 23% in 2015 to 20% in 2018
• 44% of all who have smoked in the past 12 months have made an attempt to quit during that period
• over half of smokers (57%) are at least thinking about quitting, and 40% of current smokers have made an attempt to quit in the past 12 months
• most of those who have made an attempt to quit smoking in the past 12 months did so due to concerns about their health Tobacco packaging
• standardised packaging of tobacco, also known as generic or plain packaging, has been introduced in Ireland. All retail tobacco packaging must be in standardised form from 30 September 2018
• 71% of the general population and 62% of smokers approve of this plain packaging legislation
• 23% of smokers report that the health warnings on tobacco packaging have made them at least somewhat more likely to quit smoking during the past month

• three-quarters have drunk alcohol in the past year, with over half (55%) of drinkers drinking at least once a week
• 37% of drinkers report that they drink six or more standard drinks (binge drinking) on a typical drinking occasion
• 54% of drinkers who also smoke binge drink on a typical drinking occasion, compared with 33% of non-smokers who drink
• 8% of drinkers have failed to do what was normally expected from them in the past 12 months because of drinking

• of the five types of unhealthy foods measured by the survey, 34% consume at least one of them on a daily basis
• 9% drink sugar-sweetened drinks on a daily basis. This is highest amongst those aged 15- 24 (15%)
• over a third (37%) report that they consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily (including juices)

• 85% perceive their health to be very good or good. 3% perceive it to be very bad or bad
• a notable gender gap in self-reported good health exists among those aged 55 to 64. 81% of women in this age group perceive their health to be good or very good, compared with 73% of men
• 29% have a long-standing illness or health problem
• 25% reported receiving the flu vaccine during the previous winter. This is highest among those aged 75 and older (78%)
• 66% have had their blood pressure measured during the past 12 months

• 79% describe their oral health as good or very good
• women are more likely than men (82% and 76% respectively) to describe their oral health as good or very good
• 68% of smokers describe their oral health as good or very good, compared with 85% of those who have never smoked
• 46% say that they have all their own teeth. This declines with age from 88% of those aged 15 to 24, to 4% of those aged 75 and older
• 47% have visited a dentist during the past 12 months, with 65% of those visiting doing so for a check-up

• 74% have visited a GP in the past 12 months, with an average of 3.8 visits per person among all aged 15 and older
• 35% have consulted a nurse in a GP surgery in the past 12 months with an average of 1.4 visits per person among all aged 15 and older
• 8% have used a GP Out of Hours service during the past 12 months. 2% have used this service on multiple occasions during the past 12 months
• during the past 12 months, 12% have been admitted to hospital as an in-patient and 16% have been admitted to hospital as a day patient Health Behaviours and Inequalities
• those in more deprived areas are less likely to rate their health as good or very good, and more likely to have a long-term health problem
• similarly, those in more deprived areas are more likely to smoke and binge drink
• self-rated good health declines earlier for men in deprived areas (around the age of 55 to 64) than it does for both men in affluent areas and women in deprived areas
• women living in more deprived areas are more likely than those in affluent areas to continue smoking and binge drinking into their 50s

All the documents and technical specifications of the survey are available here.