Two thirds of smokers want to quit smoking

28th May 2011 - As World No Tobacco Day approaches, statistics show the majority of current smokers in the UK say they want to quit.

Research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also found that tobacco is banned from around seven in 10 homes in the UK, and four out of five people agree with the smoking ban in public places.

World No Tobacco Day (May 31st) is intended to encourage smokers around the world to try to give up for 24 hours.

It’s also hoped it will draw attention to the negative health effects of smoking and highlight just how many people across the world still smoke.

Death and disease toll rising

The World Health Organisation has warned that the death toll from smoking related-diseases could rise from more than five million to eight million by 2030 unless action is taken.

In relation to the UK, an ONS statistician tells us: "The scale of the health problem caused by smoking is clearly shown by the fact that there were approximately 1.5 million hospital admissions in 2008-09 with a primary diagnosis of a disease that can be caused by smoking — and this figure has been rising steadily."

The ONS also points out that smoking is estimated to be the cause of about one-third of all cancers.

Reducing smoking is one of three key commitments at the heart of the NHS Cancer Plan, published in 2008.

Scary smoking stats

• Around 81,400 deaths in the UK (18% of all deaths of adults aged 35 and over) are estimated to be caused by smoking
• A larger proportion of men (23%) than women (14%) are estimated to die from smoking-related diseases
• More than a third of all deaths are due to respiratory diseases; 29% of all cancer deaths are attributable to smoking
• 14% of deaths due to circulatory disease and 6% of deaths due to diseases of the digestive system are also put down to smoking

There’s no better time to quit

In response to the ONS findings, Amanda Sandford, research manager at Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), tells us in an emailed statement: "Smoking remains the single biggest cause of premature death in the UK.  Despite an overall fall in smoking rates, around 10 million people continue to be addicted to nicotine and risk dying prematurely of diseases such as heart disease, cancer or respiratory illnesses.

“These tragedies can be avoided if people who want to quit seek professional help — and the UK has some of the best resources in the world to help smokers conquer their addiction."