LONDON, Sept, 19. People in England are giving up smoking cigarettes at the rate of 200 every hour, data published Thursday from University College London (UCL) has revealed. Public Health England (PHE) said England has seen the fastest drop in smoking rates in more than 10 years.
The latest data from a national smoking study indicated adult smoking rates fell 2.2 percent from January to July 2019. Smoking prevalence in England has reached a record low, but smokers still account for 14.4 percent of the adult population in England. Amongst men the smoking level is 16.4 percent and amongst women it is 12.6 percent. PHE is encouraging smokers to join in with the nation’s biggest quit attempt, which begins on Oct.1 2019.
Yvonne Doyle, medical director at PHE, said: “It’s really encouraging to see these early signs of such a fast drop in smokers but we’ve still got a way to go to achieve our ambition of a smoke-free society.” The annual campaign, known as “Stoptober” has so far supported over 1.9 million people on their quit journey, added PHE.
Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, said: “Thanks to our tough action on tobacco, smoking rates are falling faster than in years, presenting us with the real opportunity for a smoke-free society by 2030.” Professor Jamie Brown from the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at UCL said: “We’re at an all-time low for the number of smokers, but we want to see more people quitting.”
