Filthy Habbit!
Posted by Mattous 31 Oct 2001 22:07.27
This was orignaly meant for my business homework. And I thought you guys should know about it too.
SMOKING STATISTICS
January 2001
Tobacco was introduced to Europe from the New World at the end of the fifteenth century. Smoking spread rapidly and was long regarded as having medicinal value. It was not until the 20th century, however, that smoking became a mass habit and not until after the Second World War that the dangers of smoking were firmly established.
About 13 million adults in the UK smoke cigarettes - 28% of men and 26% of women. In 1974, 51% of men and 41% of women smoked cigarettes - nearly half the adult population of the UK. Now just over one-quarter smoke, but the decline in recent years has been heavily concentrated in older age groups: i.e., almost as many young people are taking up smoking but more established smokers are quitting.
Adult smoking rates vary between different parts of the country. In East Anglia, 22% of people smoke, in the North West, 31%. In Scotland, 30% of the population smokes, in Wales 27% and in Northern Ireland prevalence is 29%.
Smoking is highest among those aged 20-24: 39% of women and 42% of men in this age group smoke. Smoking remains higher than the national average among both men and women until they reach the age of 50-59.
More than 80% of smokers take up the habit as teenagers.
In the United Kingdom about 450 children start smoking every day.
Almost a quarter of Britain's 15 year-olds 21% of boys and 25% of girls - are regular smokers - despite the fact that it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children aged under 16.
Men and women in the unskilled manual socio-economic group are more likely to smoke than people in the professional group. 15% of men and 14% of women in the professional group smoke compared with 45% of men and 33% of women in the unskilled manual group.
People do give up - 22% of women and 34% of men are ex-smokers. Surveys show that about 70% of current smokers would like to give up altogether.
Tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended.
Every year, around 120,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit.
Smoking kills around ten times more people in the UK than road traffic accidents (3,184), accidental falls (4,578), murder and manslaughter (306), suicide (4,291), and HIV infection (186) all put together (12,545 in total - 1998 figures).
About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit.
Smoking causes thirty per cent of all cancer deaths (including at least 80% of lung cancer deaths), 17% of all heart disease deaths and at least 80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema.
Polls show that the public overestimate the number of people who smoke and underestimate severely the dangers of smoking.
It is estimated that several hundred cases of lung cancer and several thousand cases of heart disease in non-smokers in the UK are caused by passive smoking - breathing other people's tobacco smoke.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, which are present either as gases or as tiny particles. These include:
nicotine
This is what is addictive. It stimulates the central nervous system, increasing the heartbeat rate and blood pressure. In large quantities nicotine is extremely poisonous.
tar
Brown and treacly in appearance, this is deposited in the lungs and respiratory system and gradually absorbed. It is a mixture of many different chemicals, including: formaldehyde, arsenic, cyanide, benzo[a]pyrene, benzene, toluene, acrolein.
carbon monoxide
This binds to haemoglobin in the bloodstream more easily than oxygen does, thus
making the blood carry less oxygen round the body.
The UK government earned £10,090 million in revenue from tobacco duty and VAT in 1998.
It is estimated that the tobacco industry currently spends around £100 million every year on advertising and promoting tobacco in the UK. A law to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship is likely to be introduced during 2001.
In December 1998, The Government published a White Paper on tobacco in which a commitment was made to spend £100 million over three years on health campaigns against tobacco use.
Intresting ay?
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