Smoking is back on the rise in Italy after declining in the wake of tough anti-smoking legislation two years ago, a new report has found.
A poll taken by the DOXA research group for Italy's Higher Health Institute (ISS) found that Italian smokers today average 14 cigarettes a day compared to 13 a year ago.
There are an estimated 12 million smokers in Italy of whom 1.2 million are between 15 and 24 years of age and 130,000 are under 17 years of age.
According to the poll, one third of Italian smokers would cut down if the price of cigarettes rose to five euros a pack and 9.5% would quit.
Cigarette sales in 2006 rose 1.1% over 2005 and tobacco sales amounted to 12.4 billion euros.
Italian Health Minister Livia Turco announced earlier this month that special public medical centres would soon be set up to help smokers quit.
Speaking on Thursday, Turco said combating smoking "remains one of the top priorities for the government and the health ministry, in particular". She also renewed her call for banning cigarette sales to anyone under 18 years of age and said "I believe it is our duty to adopt this as soon as possible".
At present, tobacconists and bar owners regularly sell cigarettes to kids. Italy launched a tough new law banning smoking from all enclosed public spaces in 2005. It led to a sharp drop in cigarette sales but only in that year.
The 2005 legislation was designed primarily to protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking It virtually ended all smoking in cafés, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs. Any establishment wishing to cater to smokers must set up separate rooms with automatically closing doors and smoke extractors, although few have done so.
Smoking is banned from all work places too.
Earlier this year, the government unveiled a new anti-smoking campaign.
It will offer incentives to companies which offer programs to help their employees kick the habit, slap heftier fines on those who continue to smoke at their work place and grant tax deductions on the purchase of anti-smoking products and the cost of existing anti-smoking treatment centres.
