Smoking.Main Facts: Currently, just over a quarter of the UKs population, about 15 million people smoke cigarettes.

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SMOKING

March 2003

Hannah Voice

Main Facts:

* Currently, just over a quarter of the UK's population, about 15 million people smoke cigarettes.

* The majority of smokers are people between the ages of 20 and 34.

* More that 80% of smokers take up the habit as teenagers.

* In the UK, about 450 children start smoking every day.

* Approximately one fifth of Britain's 15 year olds are regular smokers, despite the fact that it is illegal to smoke under the age of 16.

* Surveys show, that 70% of smokers, would like to give up their habit.

* Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of cancer worldwide.

* Every year, around 120,000 smokers in the UK die, as a result of smoking.

* Smoking kills around six times more people in the UK per year, than road traffic accidents (3,391), other accidents (8,933), poisoning and overdoses (3,157), murder and manslaughter (495), suicide (4,485), and HIV infection (180).

* About half, of all regular cigarette smokers, will eventually be killed by their habit.

* Smoking causes about 30% of all cancer deaths (including around 90% of lung cancer deaths), 17% of all heart disease deaths, and at least 80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema.

* It is estimated, that several hundred cases of lung cancer, and several thousand cases of heart disease in non-smokers in the UK, are caused by passive smoking (breathing other people's tobacco smoke).

* On average, in the UK, 92 people die from lung cancer every day - one every 15 minutes.

* Since the mid 1980's, it has been more likely for girl's to smoke regularly than boys.

* Parents and siblings influence children. They are far more likely to smoke, if other people at home do.

* Research has shown, that advertising tobacco influenced young people to start smoking. However, in November 2002, a law to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship was enacted.

* During the period of September 2001, and August 2002, tobacco companies spent £25million, on advertising, excluding sponsorship and indirect advertising.

* The Government currently spends around £17million, on anti-smoking education campaigns. A further £2million is spent on measures to help people stop smoking.
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* It has been shown, that manual workers, are more than twice as likely, to smoke, to non-manual workers. The Government's Cancer Plan aims to reduce the 'manual classes' smoking rate, from 36%, to 26%, by 2010.

Lung Cancer Rates In The UK:

As shown in the graph above, the amount of men who are dieing in the UK from lung cancer is rapidly decreasing, which is very good. However, the death rate of women was slowly increasing, until the 1990's, when the rate reached a point at which it was constant. The death ...

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