Smoking in the United Kingdom
 | Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation. |
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Template:Rescue Tobacco smoking in the United Kingdom is legal, but under certain circumstances is is currently banned. It is generally recognised that smoking in the UK is a growing problem which is putting strain on the National Health Service (NHS) due to the considerable health problems which can be directly linked with smoking tobacco; because of this the UK Government is keen to try to reduce the number of smokers. As part of this commitment the NHS currently offers help to smokers who want to stop smoking in the form of a free "Quit Kit".
The Problem
It has been estimated by Cancer Research UK that smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable illness and early death with around 107,000 people dying in 2007 from smoking-related diseases including cancers in the UK. Around 86% of lung cancer deaths in the UK are caused by tobacco smoking[1] and overall tobacco smoking is estimated to be responsible for more than a quarter of cancer deaths in the UK, around 43,000 deaths in 2007.
History of Tobacco Consumption
Britain's relationship with tobacco is relatively short. Tobacco was introduced to Britain in the 1565[2] when it was usually smoked in pipes by men. Snuff and cigar smoking became popular among men later but it was the invention of cigarette machines in the latter part of the nineteenth century that made mass consumption of tobacco possible. By 1919, more tobacco was sold as cigarettes than in any other form of tobacco. At first only men smoked cigarettes and their consumption rose steadily until 1945, when it peaked at 12 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day.
After the Second World War there was a slight dip in consumption, but thereafter it remained at around 10 manufactured cigarettes per day until 1974 which marked the start of a steady and continuous decrease to 4.6 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day in 1992. 9 Women began to smoke cigarettes in the 1920s but not in large numbers until after the Second World War, by which time they were smoking 2.4 cigarettes per adult female per day. Consumption continued to increase until it reached 7.0 cigarettes per day in 1974; it then declined to 3.9 cigarettes per day in 1992.