Smoking in United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, smoking is allowed but tobacco products are subject to certain regulations. Under these regulations, there is a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising. Cigarettes can be purchased online, but not through vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is allowed with an import license. Additionally, health warnings on cigarette packaging are required, and the minimum legal age for purchase is 18 years. Legal restrictions on smoking in public places are also enforced. Cigarettes in the UK are subject to an excise tax of 50.56% and a total taxation rate of 83.72%. Statistics show a gradual decline in the current smoking prevalence in the UK since 2000. There were approximately 6.7 million current adult smokers in the country in 2024, representing an adult current smoking prevalence of 11.8%. This was 13.1% in 2022, and 27.1% in 2000. Smoking prevalence was higher among males with 13.6% than among females with 10.1% in 2024. Daily smoking prevalence among adults was 9.1% overall, 8.1% among females, and 10.2% among males in 2024. In 2021, smoking led to 75,848 deaths in the UK, of which 44,400 deaths were among males and 31,448 deaths were among females. This shows that smoking consisted 11.05% of all deaths in the country, including 12.6% of all male deaths and 9.42% of all female deaths.
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October 27, 2020 by plos.org
A cluster feasibility trial to explore the uptake and use of e-cigarettes versus usual care offered to smokers attending homeless centres in Great Britain
Smoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low but this masks considerable inequalities; prevalence amongst adults who are homeless remains four times higher than the national average. The objective of this trial was to assess the feasibility of supplying free e-cigarette starter kits to smokers accessing homeless centres and to estimate parameters to inform a possible future larger trial. In this feasibility cluster trial, four homeless centres in Great Britain were non-randomly allocated to either a Usual Care (UC) or E-Cigarette (EC) arm. Smokers attending the centres were recruited by staff. [...]
October 26, 2020 by theguardian.com
Legal loophole allows children to get free vape samples
Health campaigners have expressed alarm after it emerged that a loophole in the law means it is legal for marketing companies to hand out vapes to children for free.
British American Tobacco (BAT) is investigating after a 17-year-old was offered a free sample of the company’s Vype brand. The minor was not told that the product contained nicotine and was not asked for proof of age. Vape companies regularly distribute free samples to adults using paid, third-party promotional companies operating in city centres and at festivals and transport hubs. [...]
October 23, 2020 by filtermag.org
Study: Vaping Looks Like a Gateway Out of—Not Into—Smoking
In the United States, federal agencies and private organizations have pushed the narrative that the use of e-cigarettes threatens to get more people “hooked” on combustible products, leading to laws that have reduced the availability of non-smoke alternatives.
A new study from the United Kingdom, a country that recognizes and promotes vaping as a harm reduction intervention to smoking, found that most adult vapers buck the behavioral trajectory alleged across the Atlantic.
October 09, 2020 by nhsapa.org
Smoking Cessation Support in Manchester’s homeless hotels during COVID-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only re-highlighted the complex health needs of the homeless population in this country but it also highlighted a need to address the additional infection risks from smoking in a very vulnerable group.
As the country entered lockdown, Greater Manchester’s Covid-19 Emergency Committee secured emergency accommodation for hundreds of rough sleepers in hotels across the city region. Around 85% of the UK’s homeless population are smokers and with research showing that smokers who contract Covid-19 are more likely to die than non-smokers, this was an area of real concern.
October 08, 2020 by bbc.com
E-cigarettes: 'Young people vape less but still smoke'
E-cigarette use among young people has fallen for the first time in Wales, according to research by Cardiff University.
But the decline in 11 to 16-year-olds smoking has stalled, the study found.
The 2019 Student Health and Wellbeing Survey asked more than 100,000 pupils from 198 secondary schools across Wales about their smoking habits.
The findings show 22% of young people had tried an e-cigarette, down from 25% in 2017.
Those vaping weekly or more often had also declined from 3.3% to 2.5% over the same period.
October 08, 2020 by metro.co.uk
Why you shouldn’t be vaping around other people or in enclosed spaces
Current public health advice focuses on the hazards to the person using a device due to the repetitive hand-to-face movements, and recommends washing your hands, cleaning your e-cigarette regularly and avoiding sharing them.
[...] Professor Linda Bauld, the Bruce and John Usher Chair of Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, told Metro.co.uk it is therefore ‘entirely plausible’ that Covid-19 could be transmitted through vape clouds in the same way.
She said: ‘We don’t know anything about the transfer of the virus through either tobacco smoke or vape clouds.
October 01, 2020 by regulatorwatch.com
Stress Test | Is UK’s Enthusiasm for Vaping on the Wane?
Stoptober is back: The UK’s annual challenge to quit smoking in the month of October. According to the NHS if a smoker can stay quit for 28-days then it is 5 times more likely the person quits for good. In this episode of RegWatch we are joined by tobacco harm reduction advocate and clinical consultant Louise Ross to discuss realities on the ground in the UK effort to stamp out smoking. Are e-cigarettes being promoted at NHS Stop Smoking Services centers? What is the current UK public perception of vaping? And, how might the demise of Public Health England affect the outcome of the war on vaping?
September 14, 2020 by thesun.co.uk
Vaping ‘could increase the risk of breast cancer’ amid fears young women are being targeted by e-cigarette companies
Scientists from a group of American universities, including Yale, Johns Hopkins and Princeton have found exposure to e-cigarette vapour creates a "tumour-promoting environment" in the breast and elsewhere in the body. A surgeon at the London Breast Institute at the Princess Grace Hospital named Professor Kefah Mokbel warned the findings should be a wake-up call to those who think the devices are harmless, or better than smoking normal cigarettes.
"This study provides a good level of evidence that vaping has the potential to induce breast cancer and promote its progression and spread to the lungs," he said.
September 03, 2020 by vapingpost.com
UK Tobacco Firms Warned to Pick Cigarette Butts or Face Harsher Laws
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow has warned local tobacco companies to do something about the millions of cigarette butts littering the streets in the UK, or else face tougher laws. Minister Pow has summoned the major players in the industry focusing her fire on the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association and cigarette giants Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International [...] “If we cannot progress this discussion… we will have to reflect on what steps the Government can take to ensure the tobacco industry takes increasing responsibility for the litter its products create,” she said in a letter addressed to the tobacco firms.
September 02, 2020 by manilatimes.net
Smoking can be controlled – expert
Easier access to better smoking alternatives woulf usher the decline of smoking prevalence, according to a British physician and tobacco control expert.
“Governments should make e-cigarettes easily available, introduce modest regulations to reduce the risk of irresponsible marketing and product safety approaches, and give a medical endorsement,” said Dr. John Britton, director of the United Kingdom Center for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, stressing that these were considered the key approaches for countries to adopt if they want to see smoking rates decline.