Wednesday 11 March 2009

Eight facts killer facts about smoking...

Today is National No Smoking day. So, to celebrate this joyous day, here are 8 facts about smoking habits in the UK; not including the fact that smoking is very likely to kill you.

1. Only one in five people smoke

Smoking fell to its lowest recorded level in 2007 – 21 per cent of the population of Great Britain aged 16 and over.

2. Smokers hate smoking

66 per cent of smokers said they wanted to give up.

3. Lighting up is not the first thing smokers do when the wake up

This one really surprised me. Every smoker I have ever known was gagging for fag first thing in the morning. According to the ONS, 17 per cent of smokers said they lit up within five minutes of waking. Heavy smokers are more likely to light up immediately and 35 per cent of those smoking 20 or more a day do so, compared with 3 per cent of those smoking fewer than 10 a day

4. The more you smoke; the more you like it

Heavier smokers are less likely to want to give up. The proportion wanting to give up in 2007 was highest among those smoking, on average, fewer than 20 cigarettes a day.

5. Smokers want to give up because of health concerns

Cancer is scary business. Health concerns are the most commonly mentioned reason for quitting, with 86 per cent of people who want to give up mentioning at least one health reason. After health, the next most commonly mentioned reasons are costs (27 per cent), family pressure (20 per cent) and the effect on children (15 per cent).

6. Smoking is a solitary business

Married or cohabiting people smoke less (18 per cent) than singles (28 per cent).

7. The less you earn, the more you smoke

Cigarette smoking is lower among households classified as professional and managerial (15 per cent) than among those classified as routine and manual (26 per cent). It follows that high cigarette taxes are highly regressive; the tax burden falls disproportionately on the poor.

8. Only the young and stupid smoke

Smoking is highest in the 20-24 age group (31 per cent) and lowest among those aged 60 and over (12 per cent).

(Data from the ONS)

13 comments:

AntiCitizenOne said...

A smoke and a beer are a perfect combination.

Mark Wadsworth said...

9. A smoke in isolation is OK, but a beer without a smoke is a waste of beer, frankly.

Anonymous said...

Where I live--Ladbroke Grove, London, God help me--the ratio of smokers to humans is more like 1 in 2. There is a recidivist gene in this area that is going to take a millennium to uncoil itself. And there are still WAY TOO MANY ESTATE AGENTS.

Electro-Kevin said...

Actually pork scratchings and a beer is the perfect combination.

Anonymous said...

"Lighting up is not the first thing smokers do when they wake up": 'course not; the first thing they do is cough.

Anonymous said...

Hm - Had I known about "National No Smoking Day" I would have gotten myself a cigar!

Anonymous said...

I'd say you aren't a smoker Alice....?

AntiCitizenOne said...

lets see what Bill Hicks thinks!

Anonymous said...

This is a posts that one needs to contemplate at some length.

Pop of the wiskey cork,

Flare of the match,

Delicious aroma of my favorite Romeo y Julieta.

Now all is peace.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I forgot, Happy no smoking day!

From the 'free' leaflet passed around at some expense. Giving up smoking will save you £5 per day.

Of course if thieving government cut the tobacco excise then I could probably save myself £25 per day.

Then again the poor old NHS would be in such a shambles without this reviled but eagerly spent tax revenue.

Anonymous said...

How about "British American Tobacco" is paying the seventh largest dividend of any company operating in the UK.

I don't buy the statistic that smoking is highest among the 20-24 age bracket - maybe a greater proportion that age occasionally smoke - but I think volume demand is elsewhere.

One thing that I've been wondering recently is this... with the banning of smoking tobacco in public spaces, does this drive smoking underground - and lead to an increased cannabis use?

For the record, I've never smoked - never even tried... never wanted to start - but I'm surprised by the ban and sceptical about some of the more aggressive anti-smoking arguments.

Anonymous said...

I got hooked after starting smoking marijuana. It looks like prohibition of marijuana will end soon, lest it collapses Mexico and plunges San Diego into civil war.
This economic crisis is going to rewrite the rules. i can't wait for the current ideology to die.

JOLLY ROGER said...

How do you do… FAGS

"We want to help you"

What? If vilifying large groups of society for no reason, ostracising them to the cold climate, bombarding them with nightmarish obscene imagery of cancerous lungs and diseases while already threatening them with death, illness and deformed babies and, AND charging those people more and more money for the privilege of doing that sounds, like a heap of help. Sounds like an invasion of our civil liberties to live, without judgment. Considering the smoking masses make up 1.1 billion of us or 17% of the worlds population. I think that makes a pretty strong, probably not healthy, minority.

more at www.lifetyleguides.blogspot.com