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Smoking

  • Cigarette smoke contains a large number of different substances which can damage the lungs. The smoke has two parts: the particulate phase, tiny portions of solid matter which contain the tar and the gas phase, which contains carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides
  • These toxic substances are drawn directly into smokers’ lungs in mainstream smoke. The filters in most cigarettes reduce the amount of large particles and allow some dilution with air, but let most of these toxic chemicals into the lungs
  • The tar content of cigarette smoke damages the cells in the airways of the lung. Eventually this damage can produce cells that grow uncontrollably leading to cancer of the lung or voice box (larynx)
  • The body’s protective cells detect other harmful substances from the smoke. These cells move to the lung and try to defend it but are destroyed by the cigarette smoke. The dead cells release substances that damage the structure of the lung, leading to chronic bronchitis and emphysema or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
  • Toxic substances from cigarette smoke enter the bloodstream and are responsible for damage to other organs in the body. The arteries in the heart, brain and elsewhere can be affected, leading to angina, heart attacks, strokes and poor circulation. The chances of cancer in other organs, like the gullet or bladder, are increased
  • In 2003-2004, 71 billion cigarettes were consumed in the United Kingdom. Of these, 10.5 billion were smuggled, accounting for approximately 15% of the total cigarette market[i]
  • More than one in four adults in England smoke – only slightly lower than the rate at the beginning of the 1990s[ii]
  • Nearly one in five pregnant women smoke[iii]
  • Smoking among people in non-manual groups has fallen more quickly than people in manual groups, around one third of whom still smoke[iv]

The cost of smoking

  • Smoking costs the NHS up to £1.7 billion a year in England.[v] This includes the cost of hospital admissions, GP consultations and prescriptions
  • The state also pays for sickness/invalidity benefits, widows’ pensions and other social security benefits for dependants as a result of smoking
  • An analysis of the cost benefits of achieving the Government’s targets to reduce smoking has shown that £524 million should be saved as a result of a reduction in the number of heart attacks and strokes[vi]

The impact of smoking

  • Smoking kills more than 120,000 people in the UK each year. It is the biggest single cause of preventable illness and death in the UK[vii]
  • In 2000, an estimated 29,100 deaths (30% of all smoking attributable deaths) were due to respiratory disease[viii]
  • One in three respiratory deaths in men (34%) and one in four women (26%) were attributable to smoking[ix]
  • 88% of all lung cancers are attributable to smoking[x]
  • One third (36%) of cancer deaths in men and one fifth (21%) of cancer deaths in women are attributable to smoking[xi]
  • On average 300 people die each day as a result of smoking[xii]



[i] Basic Facts Three: Economics: http://www.ash.org.uk/

[ii] Department of Health, Choosing Health? resource pack, Spring 2004

[iii] Department of Health, Choosing Health? resource pack, Spring 2004

[iv] Department of Health, Choosing Health? resource pack, Spring 2004

[v] Department of Health, Choosing Health? resource pack, Spring 2004

[vi] Basic Facts Three: Economics: http://www.ash.org.uk/

[vii] Department of Health, Choosing Health? resource pack, Spring 2004

[viii] Peto R, Lopez A, Boreham J and Thun M (in press) Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000 (2nd Ed) Oxford University Press: Oxford. www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco

[ix] Peto R, Lopez A, Boreham J and Thun M (in press) Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000 (2nd Ed) Oxford University Press: Oxford. www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco

[x] Peto R, Lopez A, Boreham J and Thun M (in press) Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000 (2nd Ed) Oxford University Press: Oxford. www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco

[xi] Peto R, Lopez A, Boreham J and Thun M (in press) Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000 (2nd Ed) Oxford University Press: Oxford. www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco

[xii] Anne-Toni Rodgers, Communications Director at NICE, press release 11/04/02