Technical Report - Donegal Traveller's Project

All Ireland Traveller Health StudySmoking, Alcohol and Illicit DrugsGeneral SummaryOverall, 52.5% in ROI and 50.8% in NI were current smokers; 43.5% in ROI and 38.4% in NI were regularsmokers and a further 9% in ROI and 12.4% in NI were occasional smokers. Smoking rates in men andwomen were comparable between the sexes in ROI but somewhat lower in women (47.8%) than men(53.9%) in NI. Regarding alcohol consumption, 38.1 % of respondents in ROI and 39.3% in NI indicatedthey never drank, with rates of non-drinking being considerably higher in women than men. Thelowest rate of never-drinkers (30.9% in ROI and 32.1% in NI) was in the 30 to 44-year-old age group. Amajority of respondents (66.3% in ROI and 64.6% in NI) considered illicit drugs to be a problem in theircommunity and this was a consistent pattern for both men and women and across age groups.CommentaryThere is a high prevalence of current tobacco smoking within the AITHS. This compares with currentsmoking in 37% of adults in social class 5 to 6 in SLAN 2007, 32.5% in the INSIGHT ‘07 medical cardholders, and 34% of all semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the 2008-2009 NI Continuous Householdsurvey. Figure 16 shows the prevalence of current smoking by sex in the AITHS and comparablepopulations. Data from all SLAN 2007 participants is also included as a comparator with the widerpopulation.Figure 16: Current tobacco smoking in the AITHS, INSIGHT ‘07, NI Continuous Householdsurvey 2008-2009 semi-skilled and unskilled workers and SLAN 2007 studies6050% of population403020100All TravellersINSIGHT 07 GMSSLAN 07 SC 5-6NI 2008-2009All SLAN 07All TravellersINSIGHT 07 GMSSLAN 07 SC 5-6NI 2008-2009All SLAN 07MenWomen212