And as with Covid-19, there are stark differences in ill-health caused by tobacco in different population groups. The latest data from 2019 show that while, on average, one in seven adults in England smoke, big differences exist: this figure is nearly one in four among routine and manual workers, and for adults with a severe mental illness it’s closer to one in two.
Differences across the country are equally striking. For example, smoking rates in Blackpool are nearly three times higher than in Richmond-upon-Thames. Smoking rates have been steadily declining over the past decade, but early evidence points to some quite different behaviours during the pandemic. A large survey last summer suggested more than a million people had quit smoking since the start of the pandemic.
THE Government has launched a fresh crackdown on junk food today in a post-Covid war on obesity.
Part of the Queen s Speech today was dedicated to fighting weight-gain and making Britain healthier.
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The Government wants to get Britain fitter and healthier in the wake of the pandemicCredit: Getty - Contributor
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The Queen delivering the speech as she opens Parliament this morningCredit: BBC
Ministers announced a huge push to improve the overall health of Brits in the wake of Covid - with the aim to prevent problems before they emerge.
One in six adults and more than one in three kids aged ten to 11 are overweight - with obesity a large risk factor in fighting the virus.
Vaping better than nicotine replacement therapy for stopping smoking, evidence suggests
As number of vapers in England plateaus, incorrect perceptions of its relative risks compared to smoking may be discouraging smokers from using vaping to quit.
From:
Public Health England’s (
nicotine vaping products were the most popular aid (27.2%) used by smokers trying to quit in England in 2020
it is estimated that in 2017, more than 50,000 smokers stopped smoking with the aid of a vaping product who would otherwise have carried on smoking
38% of smokers in 2020 believed that vaping is as harmful as smoking – 15% believed that vaping is more harmful
using a vaping product as part of a quit attempt in local stop smoking services had some of the highest quit success rates – between 59.7% and 74% in 2019 and 2020