- By the end of the year it’s expected less than a fifth of Britons will smoke
- Among the upper and middle classes about 13% of people smoke
- 25% of people in the lower social brackets are smokers
- Smoking causes 86% of lung cancer deaths and 80% of bronchitis deaths
By
Emma Innes
11:42 EST, 19 July 2013
|
11:42 EST, 19 July 2013
Smoking prevalence among England’s adult population is set to drop below 20 per cent for the first time in a century
Smoking among England’s adult population is set to drop below 20 per cent for the first time in a century, it was revealed today.
An ongoing survey of tobacco use is expected to show the turning point being crossed by the end of this year.
The proportion of smokers in England dipped as low as 20.1 per cent in 2011, when the last yearly results from the survey were published, but never quite reached the ‘psychologically significant’ 20 per cent watermark.
Researchers plan to publish more figures at the end of this year.
Unless there is a highly unlikely U-turn in the current trend, they will show that less than a fifth of people in England now smoke.
Professor Robert West, from University College London, who co-heads the Smoking Toolkit Study, said: ‘2013 is going to be, almost without doubt, the first year for a hundred years where we’re solidly below 20 per cent smoking prevalence in England. It’s going to be a big year.
‘We are making progress. It’s slow, and we’d like it to be quicker, but things are going in the right direction.’
The Smoking Toolkit Study tracks smoking habits in adults over the age of 16 every month and publishes the results online. Researchers conduct household surveys to collect information from around 1,800 people.
Currently, it shows that average smoking prevalence across England is 19.1 per cent, with a marked difference between populations at the top and the bottom of the socio-economic scale.
Among those in the upper and middle A, B and C1 social brackets, only around 13 per cent smoke.
But tobacco is part of the lives of more than a quarter of people classified as C2, D and E.
Tobacco use is recognised as the single biggest cause of preventable disease and early death in the UK, claiming more than 102,000 lives a year.
Smoking causes around 86 per cent of deaths from lung cancer, 80 per cent of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema, and 17 per cent of deaths from heart disease.
In 1948, when smoking surveys began, 82
per cent of men in the UK were smokers. Smoking prevalence fell rapidly
between the 1970s and 1990s after which it has continued a slow decline.
Smoking causes around 86 per cent of deaths from lung cancer (pictured), 80 per cent of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema, and 17 per cent of deaths from heart disease
Professor West said the long term reduction in smoking prevalence showed no sign of coming to an end.
‘We don’t see that happening in England,’ he said. ‘The decline now is between about 0.5 and one percentage point a year which is a pretty decent rate. There’s no evidence that it’s plateauing.’
He added that Government policies such as raising tobacco pricing, mass media campaigns and services to help smokers quit ‘definitely’ played a role in cutting tobacco consumption.
He warned there was no room for complacency, as had been seen in France where no attempt was made to follow up a big hike in tobacco prices. Smoking rates dropped sharply for a time, but then prevalence started to rise again.
‘You definitely need to keep bearing down on it,’ Professor West added.
Share or comment on this article
-
GRAPHIC CONTENT: Pensioner shoots dead black neighbor, 13 -
Bill Maher booed for Zimmerman joke -
Korean woman filmed being abused in nightclub by westerners… -
‘It’s quite the uterus’ Weatherman gets giggles after… -
Over 272,000 dominoes fall to set record -
CCTV: A hooded man enters the Dearborn Family Dollar store -
‘A disgrace’: Boston bomber on cover of Rolling Stone -
The Stig drives at 130mph…on a lawnmower -
CCTV footage shows moments before pregnant Olympian dies -
John and Schoep promote animal adoption -
Students ‘dragged and hit by teacher’ for being naughty in… -
‘Everybody has babies’: Queen’s cousin not excited about the…
-
Justice Department places ‘hold’ on Trayvon Martin trial… -
Bloodied and bruised at the moment of surrender: Dramatic… -
Uh oh! Newlywed quarterback RG III in sexting scandal as… -
Spectacular UNDERGROUND home forward-thinking couple built… -
Two attackers guilty on all counts in teen’s brutal 2009… -
Schoep the arthritic dog pictured in heartwarming photo of… -
Body of missing Michigan woman, 20, who was abducted from… -
Is Kate due today? Claims that Duchess of Cambridge is not… -
‘I wish I was in that car seat’: Mother’s guilt after baby… -
‘Take my son’s virginity and I’ll buy you a car’: Scheming… -
Norwegian woman who reported being raped in Dubai is jailed… -
Don’t come home! Furious Nicole Appleton kicks Liam…
The comments below have not been moderated.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
Maybe, but many more are smoking Pot thinking that it is not as bad as tobacco
Concerned
,
Plymouth,
19/7/2013 21:02
Report abuse
It says on the packet ‘this is going to make you really ill and kill you’ – and the idiots still buy it and try to kill themselves! The average goldfish has more intelligence.
ZXC62
,
Surrey, United Kingdom,
19/7/2013 20:53
Report abuse
I gave up smoking when I turned 40 – something just clicked to kick the habit. I gave up with no fancy gimmicks of sprays or gums, just pure willpower. Not to sound cocky, I’m just chuffed with myself I was able to stop. Best of luck to anyone trying to give up.
TillyBobs
,
Strawberry Fields,
19/7/2013 20:53
Report abuse
I still see smokers everywhere – guess I’m one of the few who is surprised to read it’s as low as 20%!
YankeeDo
,
London,
19/7/2013 20:50
Report abuse
So I wonder where the lost tax revenue will have to come from to make up the shortfall? Petrol? Booze? The air we breathe?
Harvey
,
Aberdeen,
19/7/2013 20:49
Report abuse
Personally I don’t care if the stinkies die just as long as the world smells better.
Agent Smith
,
S.Yorks, United Kingdom,
19/7/2013 20:46
Report abuse
Craig, Sheffield, I quit smoking and didn’t gain a pound. Moreover, I’ve seen a lot of fat smokers both here in the US and in the UK. I read an article stating that most ex-smokers who gain weight don’t actually gain more than a few pounds. If they’re overweight, they were probably overweight while smoking.
Fiametta
,
Hyde Park, United States,
19/7/2013 20:42
Report abuse
Just goes to show that TAX on Tobacco is an unfair TAX and should be abolished. Taxes should be for the majority NOT the minority.
Peter the great
,
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom,
19/7/2013 20:40
Report abuse
I gave up smoking for 2.6 years, then my mother died in april which set me off on a chain smoking nightmare, but am happy to say I have now stopped again thanks to my smoking nurse and the patches. Been smoke free for a month now and intend to stay so (saves me £120+ a month too). You only give up smoking if you really want to.
Surfpunk
,
Warks, United Kingdom,
19/7/2013 20:37
Report abuse
Just goes to show that TAX on Tobacco is an unfair TAX and should be abolished. Taxes should be for the majority NOT the minority.
Peter the great
,
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom,
19/7/2013 20:35
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.