No butts – smoking will be a thing of the past by 2030
Health campaigners are winning the battle to stub out cigarettes at a rate of a thousand quitters a day
SMOKING will be eradicated in England by 2030, as 1,000 people quit every day, health chiefs have predicted.
More than a million smokers have kicked the habit since 2014, Public Health England said yesterday, leaving overall rates at their lowest ever, with just 14.9 per cent of adults smoking.
The figures were announced as the Government body launched its annual “Stoptober” campaign to encourage
people to stop smoking for at least 28 days, which this year prominently features the benefits of e-cigarettes.
The UK has the second lowest smoking rate in Europe after Sweden, and officials believe if the current rate of reduction is maintained, England will by 2030 be “smoke-free” – defined as below 5 per cent of the total population smoking.
Nearly 400,000 smokers quit last year and statisticians believe a further 6.1 million actively want to quit.
However, PHE warned that going cold turkey – trying to quit using willpower alone – was the least effective method.
It said that in 2017-18 half those who accessed smoking cessation services with antismoking aids, such as an allday
patch, an inhaler or lozenges to help them deal with any immediate cravings, were successful. Around 63 per cent of those who used an e-cigarette in their attempts to quit were successful.
Dr Jenny Harries, deputy medical director at PHE, said: “We predict that thousands of smokers will quit every day over the next 10 years. I urge smokers not to get left behind, for the benefit of their health.
“The important thing is not to be put off trying to quit, even if you have not managed it in the past.” PHE’S advocacy of e-cigarettes is likely to spark criticism. While scien-
tists agree the devices are less damaging than traditional cigarettes, evidence is only just emerging about the risks from vaping. In August, a study was published in the journal Thorax in which scientists from the University of Birmingham in the UK found the practice accelerated the death of lung cells 50-fold.
PHE also said the NHS should play a bigger role in getting smokers to quit. Last week, Duncan Selbie, PHE’S chief executive, said while on average one in four patients in an NHS hospital bed was a smoker, staff raised the subject of quitting in only one in 13 cases.
The PHE’S estimates come from its Health Profile for England report, which states that the prevalence of smoking in adults had declined from
19.9 per cent to 14.9 per cent in the last seven years.
If this trend continued, it would fall to between 8.5 and 11.7 per cent by 2023, the authors suggested.
According to Cancer Research UK, just over 40 per cent of adult women in the UK smoked cigarettes in 1948, while for men the proportion was 66 per cent.
Steve Brine, the public health minister, said: “Millions of people are living healthier lives as a result of our efforts to reduce smoking rates.
“Britain is a global leader on tobacco control and our robust policies mean smoking rates have fallen to record lows.
“But we are not complacent – we know we must do all we can to keep encouraging smokers to quit for good.”