Men in Fareham (well, the South East) are 2nd best in the country at giving up… and other interesting non-smoking facts.

Today, Wednesday 9th March is of course, national no smoking day.

According to the No Smoking Day Charity website 31 percent of men here in the South East are ex-smokers - they are, in fact, the second best group of giver-uppers in the UK. The best for giving up are men in the South West, where 33 percent of men are now ex-smokers. Of course this does mean that all these men smoked in the first place. So here are some interesting statistics on smoking.

Here in the South East 19 percent of people smoke - in fact, 18 percent of women and 21 percent of men are currently smokers. This is in line with the national average of 21 percent of the population who light up daily.

Locally speaking 27% of us are ex-smokers (compared to 25% of the UK population) and 54% have never smoked – the same as the national average.

Wales and London aside, the further North you travel the more smokers you’ll find. Scotland is the home of the largest percentage of smokers at 25%, the highest percentage in the UK. The Scots are the worst for giving up too – only 20% are ex-smokers, the lowest in the UK.

Today more than one billion people on the planet smoke. Smoking is far from a modern day thing, however. Evidence of smoking dates back to 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Shamans and priests used to smoke as part of their religious ceremonies; as offerings to gods, as part of cleansing rituals or to ‘alter their minds’ to reach spiritual enlightenment. The practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread world-wide after European exploration and conquest of the Americas [Wikipedia].

According to the ONS 63% of smokers in the UK want to give up.

Are you giving up today? How are you doing it - on your own or with the help of the NHS?

The NHS Stop Smoking Services Report, published on 20th January this year states that 341,455 people set a quit date through NHS Stop Smoking Services between 1st April and 30th September last year. At their 4 week follow-up just less than half of them (47.5%) had successfully quit. Success at stopping, it seems, tends to increase with age. Last year 33% of those aged under 18 had still not smoked 4 weeks after quitting, compared to 55% of those aged 60 and over.

The NHS spent £40.4 million on its Stop Smoking Services from April to September last year - a cost per quitter of £249. The good news is that the South Central Strategic Health Authority, reports the highest percentage of successful quitters in the UK – 53%.

Varenicline appeared to be the most successful of the drugs commonly used in the UK to help people quit - 59% of smokers using this alone successfully give up, compared to 44% of those who were using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) only. Interestingly, the Report states that 47% of the smokers who were using no pharmacotherapies at all to help them were successful, which is 3% more than those who chose to use NRT.

So anyway, to all of you who are giving up today – however you’re doing it – good luck! Let FarehamPeople know how you’re getting on.

Photo from Flick-r by Ed Yourdon