After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK, a million people have stopped smoking, while 440,000 people tried to quit it in the last few months.
Hundreds of thousands of people from different age groups have stopped smoking in the US. The numbers are as follows: 400,000 odd people from the age groups 16-29 and 30-49 each quit smoking, while about 240,000 people aged more than 50 gave up cigarettes, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and University College London (UCL). However, it will be difficult for older people to quit it, said experts as reported by iNews.
Aim: UK To Become Smoke-Free By 2030
The overall figure is extrapolated based on an online survey of more than 10,000 people conducted between April 15 and June 20. Further, population data estimates of mid-year 2019 from the Office of National Statistics were used in the analysis.
The analysis is published along with a new campaign, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), that targets those regions with the highest rates of smoking, like north-east England. Last year, the Government set a target for the UK to become smoke-free by 2030, led by Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. But in Scotland, one in ten will still be smoking in 2034, say estimates.
Coronavirus
Authorities are now capitalizing on the fact that smokers with COVID-19 will likely suffer severely than the non-smokers.
Dr. Ruth Sharrock, a respiratory consultant supporting the campaign, said that he faces "terrible health problems" daily due to smoking. Now, he is inspired by those suffering from smoking-related diseases and has managed to quit. His advice to smokers is to quit and not to wait. "It can transform your life." The new campaign has called for those smokers to immediately quit.
Figures
According to ONS figures of 2019, about 14.1 percent of people aged 18 years and above, smoked cigarettes in the UK, which makes it 6.9 million of the population.
About 1 in 4 people in routine and manual occupations smoked. The number is almost 2.5 times higher those in managerial and professional occupations.
ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said that more than a million smokers might have succeeded in leaving the habit ever since the novel coronavirus hit.
