Smoking Rates In England Fall To Lowest On Record

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37406105

Looks like we are beginning to win the battle. Congrats to anyone who has given up recently !

[Old_Geezer]

But is it still true if you add in those with the vapours ?

[mikey4444]

Without doubt, e cigarettes have helped reduce actual smoking rates.

I am in two minds about these e thingys......the fact that they don't annoy other people and don't put them in danger of second-hand smoke has to be a good thing.

But they have been around for such a short time, I think its too early to tell if they really do persuade people not to smoke. How many people, for instance, use both e thingys and real cigarettes ?

[EDDIE51]

Vaping is NOT smoking, no smoke and no nicotine.

[mikey4444]

Eddie....I understand that vaping can involve using liquids containing tobacco, so surely those will have the danger of nicotine, although not tar ?

[Old_Geezer]

It's still fuming. Changing one risk for another. And makes those around them just as uncomfortable.

[B00]

There's some school of thought mikey that nicotine isn't harmful to the body.

[B00]

Why should someone using an Ecig make you uncomfortable OG?

[IggyB]

I haven't had a cigarette for 2 days! Not that impressive but still quite difficult.

I've found the vape really helpful. Its water vapour and does have nicotine in. Will have to give that up to at somepoint but still on the right track.

[EDDIE51]

Mikey the E cigs do not contain tobacco, you can get them with 'tobacco flavor' but it is an artificial flavour with no actual tobacco.There are no strawberries in the strawberry flavour or vanilla in the vanilla flavour, they are all artificial.

[AB Editor]

Good news.

[EDDIE51]

correction to my post at 07.58 they do contain nicotine but there are different strengths, the idea is you start on high nicotine and gradually reduce to zero nicotine.

[ToraToraTora]

yeah rejoice mikey! How many posts do you think it will take for the usual mythology to be spouted?

[mikey4444]

TTT...I am just glad that this decrease is happening. We will get there in the end !

[EDDIE51]

TTT what is 'the usual mythology'?
Boo, Nicotine is one of the most toxic poisons ever discovered!
The only reason smokers do not drop dead on the first puff is that it is VERY difficult for Nicotine to be absorbed by the body, so only a minute % of the nicotine in a cigarette actually gets into the bloodstream. That tiny % is enough to cause an addiction that can be harder to break than addiction to Heroine.

[mikey4444]

I was always under the impression that it was the tar in cigarettes that did the damage, not the nicotine, so I suppose e cigs are inherently less harmful.

Anyway, from a non-smokers point of view, at least we don't that awful reek that you get with cigarettes smoke, and for that I am eternally grateful !

[ummmm]

Eddie...where are you getting that information from?

[hc4361]

That must boost the economy - people have more money to spend on other things. I know if my wife and I hadn't stopped smoking in 94 it would now cost us at least £32 a day, £224 a week, £960 a month, £11,680 a year.

Unless it had killed us off by now, of course.

[Zacs-Master]

Whilst it's good news and should ease the burden on the NHS / fire services etc, the Gov't will still need to raise an approx £2b shortfall in tax from somewhere. My guess would be increased taxes on alcoholic beverages.

https://fullfact.org/economy/does-smoking-cost-much-it-makes-treasury/

[hc4361]

ZM, people are still spending the money, just not on cigarettes. Almost everything is subject to VAT and whilst that is much lower than the duty on fags it should even itself out over time.

[Zacs-Master]

They may be still spending the money but the returns made by taxation are far lower. VAT is 20%. Approx 83% of the price of a pack goes to the Treasury.
Hand-rolling tobacco is 71% and cigars 48%.