Working from home during the pandemic may be to blame for “stagnating” smoking rates in Britain, researchers say.
Figures show that the decade-long decline in the number of cigarettes smoked each day by smokers has stopped.
London researchers, who assessed the smoking habits of nearly 58,000 Britons, found that smokers consumed 11 cigarettes per day on average in 2019.
For comparison, the number was 14 at the beginning of 2008. But the number has not changed since then.
Scientists today claimed Covid was an “influencing” factor, and that work-from-home environments are “more permissive” towards regular smoke breaks.
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The 2023 health report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that 12.7 per cent of Britons aged 15 and over smoke cigarettes daily, much higher than the United States and New Zealand, the latter country recently introduced a similar gradual smoking ban.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, warned that statistics show that “the fight against tobacco is far from over.”
Across England, 45.5 million cigarettes are currently smoked each day, up from 77.1 million in 2011.
Experts have long said that the introduction of modern anti-smoking laws, such as the sale of cigarettes in plain packaging, is the cause of the huge drop.
Other tough measures implemented in the past two decades include placing graphic warning labels describing its harmful health effects on all types of tobacco and banning smoking in restaurants, pubs and nightclubs.
Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “This study makes clear that the UK government must not give up in its fight to reduce smoking.
‘All tobacco products are harmful and more work needs to be done to end cancers caused by smoking forever.
‘By voting in favor of age-of-sale legislation, MPs have positioned the UK as a world leader in tobacco control.
“It is now vital that MPs continue to listen to the demands of their constituents and put themselves on the right side of history.”
Rishi Sunak’s bold plan to effectively ban today’s children from smoking took a step closer to reality last month when it cleared its first hurdle when MPs voted to back it.
The 57,778 smokers who participated in the study were asked about their habits, including cigarette smoking and the type of tobacco they smoked.
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Researchers at University College London (UCL) found that during the same period, the average consumption of manufactured cigarettes fell from 9 a day to 5.
But hand-rolled cigarettes increased to six a day, up from four reported in 2008.
Forty-four volunteers also reported smoking more than 80 cigarettes a day (0.08 percent).
writing in the diary Research on nicotine and tobaccoThe researchers said consumption was “consistently higher” among older people, men and those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
Covid “may have been an influential factor” in the stagnation of cigarette consumption, they added, since working from home is “generally more permissive with more regular smoke breaks.”
Before the pandemic, only one in eight of us were homeworkers, and in many cases this was only part of the time.
In what has been the biggest shift in employment for decades, today just under a third of Britain’s workforce (around 9.5 million) has swapped full-time office work for a job. flexible that allows them to disconnect from their homes. bedrooms, kitchens and home studies sometimes.
The change in the type of cigarettes smoked is also “likely” due to affordability, driven by higher tax increases on manufactured cigarettes, they said.
Dr Sarah Jackson, author of the study and senior researcher at the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, aggregate: ‘This 15-year study captures changes in smoking behavior and shows that while the average number of cigarettes smoked per day has decreased, this trend has plateaued since 2019.
“People are increasingly choosing to use cheaper hand-rolled tobacco rather than more expensive manufactured cigarettes, showing that consistency in taxation and regulation of all types of cigarettes is key.
‘Some groups across England still smoke more than others.
“It is vital that smoking cessation services are made available easily and equitably across the UK, so that those who want to stop smoking receive all the support they need to do so.”
Under Rishi Sunak’s bold bill, which MPs voted 383 to 67, anyone born after 2009 will never be able to legally buy tobacco.
If ultimately approved, it would mean that children 15 years old and younger today would never be legally sold a cigarette.
The Government predicts that the measure will save tens of thousands of lives and prevent up to 115,000 cases of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases.
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The approach was initially recommended in a government-commissioned report published in 2022 by former children’s charity director Javed Khan..
Smoking kills around 78,000 people in the UK each year, and many more suffer from illnesses due to their habit, half of which are due to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.
It is estimated that around 500,000 hospital admissions each year in England are attributable to smoking and that smoking costs the economy £17 billion a year.
The 7,000 chemicals in tobacco (including tar and others that can narrow arteries and damage blood vessels) are thought to be behind some of the damage that tobacco inflicts on the heart.
Meanwhile, nicotine (a highly addictive toxin found in tobacco) is strongly linked to dangerous increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
Smoking also releases poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, which replaces oxygen in the blood, reducing the availability of oxygen to the heart.
Responding to today’s study, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Smoking remains the leading cause of ill health, disability and death.”
‘In the UK, it is responsible for 80,000 deaths a year and 1 in 4 cancer deaths.
“That is why we are introducing world-leading legislation to create the first generation smoke-free, protecting lives and easing pressure on the NHS.”
They added: ‘In addition to this, we have also announced an additional £70 million per year, more than doubling funding on smoking cessation services over the next five years to help people quit smoking.
“This includes access to a range of local services including face-to-face support and smoking cessation tools.”
