TOBACCO is the UK’s biggest preventable cause of ill health, disability and death.
In England alone, it claims the lives of 64,000 people each year. Across the UK as a whole it is responsible for 80,000 deaths annually.
Virtuous cycle … physical benefits begin almost the moment you quit
As many as 83 per cent of smokers light up their first cigarette before the age of 20. Yet three quarters regret it and wish they had never started.
The physical and health benefits of giving up begin almost instantly (see box below). But it can be difficult to quit this addiction – which kills two in three smokers.
Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, says: “Smoking is based on addiction, and most people wish they had never taken it up.
“They try to stop, and they cannot. Their choice has been taken away.
“As a doctor, I have seen many people in hospitals desperate to stop smoking, but they cannot.”
Worryingly, youngsters are four times as likely to pick up the addiction if they grow up in a household of smokers.
This is why the Government has proposed a new law aimed at protecting children and young people by preventing them from ever being legally sold tobacco.
The legislation aims to create a “smokefree generation” by raising the age of sale for tobacco in England by one year every year.
That would mean children who are turning 15 this year or younger can never be sold cigarettes (see Q&A, below).
The proposed measures will also crack down on youth vaping – which carries the risk of harm and addiction for children – by reducing the appeal and availability of vapes.
Under the plans, existing smokers will also receive more help to quit.
Funding for local Stop Smoking Services is due to double, to almost £140 million a year.
There’s also an array of free tools, tips and more being made available to help people become smokefree in 2024.
Lung overdue … Keith started smoking as a teen but kicked a 60-a-day habit
‘I DON’T GET OUT OF BREATH AS MUCH AS I USED TO, AND I’M 81 NOW’
KEEN gardener Keith Foster was 16 when he took his first puff on a cigarette.
The 81-year-old says: “My friend was smoking, and I thought I’d have a go. I had one, hated it and threw the pack away.”
A year later, he was tempted to try again when his brother started smoking. That decision quickly led to a 60-a-day addiction.
“I was working at a concrete works and I’d smoke one after the other,” recalls Keith, who lives in Redhill, Surrey.
“There were loads of people smoking around me. I didn’t think about my health. Everyone else was doing it, and I thought: why shouldn’t I?”
Back then, Keith – who married wife Muriel at 19 – had no idea of the dangers.
But when medical advisory notices began appearing on packs in the early 1970s, he decided to quit.
He explains: “Once I make my mind up about something, there’s no going back. I never smoked again.
“If I had known at the time about the health warnings,” he adds, “I would not have taken up smoking.”
Keith started to notice health improvements within days of quitting.
“I could taste my dinner better and had much more energy. I used to wheeze, but within a week of giving up, I could breathe clearly again.
“It made all the difference. I enjoy gardening and don’t get out of breath as much as I did back then, and I’m 81 now.”
Keith says his brother David, 82, smoked most of his life before giving up two years ago.
“It’s left him with emphysema and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
“My advice to anyone is do not start smoking. Leave it alone.
“You might be young now, but as you get older, it gradually gets hold of you.
“You can get bad breath and cancer. It can make you very ill and kill you.
“It’s better not to start smoking in the first place.”
Puff justice … the UK indoor smoking ban has been a lifesaver for Hannah
‘CIGARETTE SMOKE COULD TRIGGER AN ASTHMA ATTACK’
IN THE early to mid-Noughties, Hannah Wilkinson dreaded going out in public, because as a little girl she would become unwell from the cigarette smoke exhaled by people around her.
Now 27, Hannah recalls: “It could trigger an asthma attack. I would get home as a kid, and my clothes smelled of smoke; the worst was my hair. It was horrible.”
Hannah, who lives in Crawley, West Sussex, was “relieved beyond belief” when the UK indoor smoking ban came into force in 2007.
The digital brand manager believes her sporty upbringing – her dad is a retired tennis coach – helped hone her health-focused attitude early in life.
She explains: “I loved playing tennis and hockey at school, and sport was my biggest focus. I didn’t want to do anything – like smoking – to jeopardise that.”
School biology lessons also helped educate her about the dangers of smoking.
She says: “You learned that your hands would turn yellow if you smoked a lot, or your lungs would turn black. There was nothing positive ever associated with smoking.”
Hannah says the majority of her friends are non-smokers too, although some vape. She wholeheartedly supports the push towards creating a smokefree generation, saying: “It will only help to improve the longevity of people’s health.”
Q&A
THE NEW LEGISLATION
Q: Why is this action being taken?
A: Smoking rates in older teens remain high – 14.1 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds in England were smokers in 2022, which is higher than the national average.
Those who start smoking under the age of 18 have higher levels of nicotine dependence – and are less likely to try to quit or successfully stop – compared to those aged 21 and over.
Q: Is this the beginning of a nanny state?
A: This is not about criminalising those who smoke – anyone who can legally be sold tobacco today will continue to be in the future.
Rather it is about protecting future generations.
The difference between tobacco and other legal products is that cigarettes are the one legal consumer product that will kill most users when used exactly as recommended by the manufacturer – and they cannot be part of a balanced lifestyle in the way sugar, salt or alcohol can.
Q: What about vaping?
A: Vaping carries the risk of addiction for children, due to the nicotine content, as well as unknown long-term harms.
The number of children using vapes has tripled over the past three years, and a survey in 2023 found a staggering 20.5 per cent of those aged 11-17 had tried them.
The new legislation will enable government to regulate the promotion of vapes to children and young people.
They will remain available to adults addicted to smoking, as a tool to help them quit.
Q: What ID will I need?
A: Passport, full or provisional driving licence or EU national identity card are all valid.
Alternatively, a photographic identity card bearing the national Proof of Age Standards Scheme (Pass) hologram is accepted.
A variety of Pass cards can be applied for by anyone at any age for £15.
UP IN SMOKE – FACTS AND FIGURES
Smoking causes about one in four cancer deaths and is responsible for at least 70 per cent of all lung cancer cases.
A typical addicted smoker spends £2,400 a year on tobacco.
Smoking costs the country £17billion a year.
Smokers lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy – about one year for every four smoking years.
People who smoke need care on average 10 years earlier than those who don’t.
Smoking is thought to be behind nine out of 10 cases of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Smoking substantially increases the risk of stillbirth, as well as diseases such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and dementia.
Tobacco use puts huge pressure on the NHS and social care: one in four hospital beds is occupied by a smoker, costing the NHS and social care £3 billion a year.
QUIT – AND YOU’RE AHEAD
The health benefits of giving up start almost the moment you quit.
Within 20-30 minutes your blood pressure and pulse drop.
After eight hours, carbon monoxide is eliminated allowing the lungs to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.
Your sense of taste and smell is improved by day two, and by day three breathing becomes easier as the bronchial tubes relax.
Quitting is much easier when you get the right support.
Whether it’s finding your local Stop Smoking Service, asking a pharmacist for advice or enlisting the help of friends.
Smoking aids like nicotine patches, sprays, gum or nicotine vapes can help ward off cravings, as can avoiding triggers and keeping busy.
Check out these free tools packed with tips to help you go the distance.
Find out more at nhs.uk