Since England banned smoking in public places last July, more than 400,000 people have quit smoking, says a study that estimates the smoking ban will save 40,000 lives over the next decade.
Researchers with the Smoking Toolkit Study interviewed more than 32,000 smokers and ex-smokers during the nine months before the ban and nine months afterward, Agence France Presse reported.
In the nine months preceding the ban, there was a 1.6 percent decline in smoking in England, compared to a 5.5 percent decline in the nine months after the ban took effect.
“These figures show the largest fall in the number of smokers on record,” said Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco studies, who oversaw the study. “The effect has been as large in all social groups, poor as well as rich smokers.”
West said he “never expected such a dramatic impact and of course there are no guarantees that smoking rates will not climb back up again,” AFP reported.
However, if health officials can maintain the momentum created by the ban, “there is a realistic prospect of achieving a target of less than 15 percent of the population smoking within the next 10 years,” West said.
About 22 percent of Britain’s adult population still smokes.
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Comments (2)
Thanks for the information on how egland’s smoking ban could save 40,000 lives. That is a dramatic impact!
We recently wrote an article on smoking at Brain Blogger. Recently, a lot of areas across the globe have banned smoking in public areas. Is this right; is smoking really that much of a problem? Is so much of a problem that Brazil must take their ad campaigns to a disturbing level?
We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kelly
Not one life has ever been saved because of smoking bans.
If you tell a big enough lie and tell it long enough, it finally becomes truth