How
BIG is the problem? |
Smoking
is the biggest single cause of ill health and premature death
in the UK.
In fact, nearly one in five of all deaths are smoking-related. On
average, smokers lose more than one day of life each week. And
it's an expensive habit: the average 20-a-day smoker spends over
£100 per month on cigarettes. Giving up can be tough. |
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Tobacco
is the only legally available consumer product which can cause death
when used for its intended purpose. |
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Tobacco
came to Europe from the New World at the end of the 15th century.
Smoking, which was thought at the time to have medicinal value,
caught on fast but did not become a mass habit until the 20th
century. It was not until after the Second World War that the
risks to health were properly understood. |
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In
1996, smokers spent £11,417 million on tobacco in the UK alone. |
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The
number of manufactured cigarettes released for home consumption
in the UK fell from 125.7 billion in 1978 to 83.3 billion in 1996.
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Every
year, around 120,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their
habit. In 1990, the estimated figure rose as high as 138,000. |
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Smoking
causes 30 per cent of all cancer deaths (including 82 per cent
of lung cancer deaths), 25 per cent of all heart disease deaths
and 83 per cent of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema.
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