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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July 04, 2018 by theguardian.com
Britain is winning the war on tobacco, health chief insists
Official data shows number of adults smoking declines as more people use e-cigarettes. Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of the health charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said smoking “must become history for all of society not just for the wealthy”. She added: “Cuts in public health funding and lack of treatment for smoking on the NHS mean poorer more heavily addicted smokers, including those who are pregnant, are not getting the help they need to quit.”
June 27, 2018 by metro.co.uk
Prisoners desperate for nicotine are now vaping in UK jails as sales top 65,000 a week
Vaping has become wildly popular in UK prisons with 65,000 refill and e-cigarettes sales in jails every week. The Ministry of Justice allowed vaping in cells after last year’s smoking ban sparked riots in several prisons and now 33,000 prisoners are get their nicotine fix through e-cigarettes. Prisoners have to buy flavoured liquid for their vapes and jail shops have been doing a roaring trade, however, there have been reports of mind-bending substances like spice being squirted in the machines.
June 26, 2018 by thetimes.co.uk
Help smokers quit, doctors tell hospitals
The NHS’s failure to help smokers quit is “as negligent as not treating cancer”, top doctors say.
Every smoker who goes into hospital should be treated for tobacco dependency alongside any other ailments, according to a report by the Royal College of Physicians.
It calls for stop-smoking services to be a “routine component of all hospital care”, offered on an opt-out rather than opt-in basis to the 3,000 smokers admitted each day. The policy would double the rate of quitting, evidence suggests.
June 22, 2018 by njspotlightnews.org
RUTGERS SCIENTIST HELPS ID NEW CANCER-CAUSING AGENT IN TOBACCO SMOKE
Organic compounds known as ‘aldehydes’ are primary source of damage to DNA and also suppress its ability to repair that damage. When it comes to cancer caused by cigarette smoke, experts may have misplaced the bulk of the blame. According to a new study, scientists at NYU School of Medicine and Rutgers University have found that chemicals called aldehydes — present in tobacco smoke in high quantities — are the primary cause of damage to DNA and suppress its ability to repair damage. [...]
June 22, 2018 by telegraph.co.uk
Our panicky and reactionary regulation of e-cigarettes is getting in the way of saving lives
My colleagues relentlessly mock me for having a vape with Adam Smith’s head displayed on its control screen. But since their emergence onto the market, e-cigarettes have become a key part of smoking cessation efforts in the UK and beyond.
Unlike many other countries, successive governments here have adopted a broadly liberal harm reduction approach when it comes to vaping. [...]
June 21, 2018 by express.co.uk
Smoke-free Scotland? SNP plot to BAN council tenants from smoking in THEIR OWN HOMES
COUNCIL tenants face a ban on smoking in their own homes under plans being considered by SNP ministers. In a push for a "tobacco-free generation", the Scottish Government said it is looking to crackdown across the social housing sector. This would see local authorities and housing associations introduce "tobacco-free clauses in tenancy agreements". Residents could also be offered "smoke-free housing alternatives" in a move segregating those who light-up.
June 20, 2018 by eurekalert.org
How vaping helps even hardened smokers quit
Vaping helps people stop smoking - even when they don't want to, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. [...] Lead researcher Dr Caitlin Notley from UEA's Norwich Medical School said: "E-cigarettes are at least 95 per cent less harmful than tobacco smoking, and they are now the most popular aid to quitting smoking in the UK.
"However the idea of using e-cigarettes to stop smoking, and particularly long-term use, remains controversial.
June 11, 2018 by theguardian.com
Squonkers, drippers and cloud chasers: the rise of vape culture
Around the world, vaping has spawned a fast-evolving subculture with multiple cliques and niches – a heady blend of hobbyism, gaming, punk rock, steampunk, tattoos, piercings and activism. At events such as Vape Jam, hundreds of brands compete for attention, from the small Italian company Moddog – where the designer Michele Brumazzo is selling £300 mod cases handcarved from spalting beech wood – to Imperial Tobacco’s subsidiary Blu, [...]
June 08, 2018 by medicalxpress.com
Ex-smokers might be better off with high rather than low nicotine e-cigs
Vapers using low rather than high nicotine e-cigarettes may be using their devices more intensely, potentially increasing the risk of exposure to toxins in the vapour, according to new research [...] Dr. Lynne Dawkins, lead author of the study based at London South Bank University, said: "Some vapers might believe that starting out on a low nicotine strength is a good thing, but they should be aware that reducing their nicotine concentration is likely to result in the use of more e-liquid. [...]
June 06, 2018 by news-medical.net
New project aims to encourage people to quit smoking
SmokeFreeBrain brings together experts in toxicology, pulmonary medicine, neuroscience, and behavioral therapy, as well as health economics and health informatics. They are examining the effectiveness of anti-smoking strategies aimed at high-risk groups in high-middle-income countries, such as unemployed adults, people with chronic pulmonary disease and asthma patients – as well as the general population in lower-middle-income countries.