Has WFH jeapordised UK's stop-smoking ambition? Decade-long decline in number of cigarettes smokers puff each day has stalled in wake of pandemic, study finds The average smoker in Britain has around 11 cigarettes a day, the same as 2019 READ MORE: Alarm over increase in middle-class women smoking By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 01:00 BST, 2 May 2024 | Updated: 01:05 BST, 2 May 2024 e-mail View comments Working from home during the pandemic may be to blame for Britain's 'stalling' smoking rate, researchers say. The decade-long decline in the number of cigarettes puffed each day by smokers has ground to a halt, figures show. Researchers in London , who assessed the smoking habits of almost 58,000 Brits, found smokers had 11 cigarettes per day on average in 2019.
For comparison, the figure stood at 14 at the start of 2008. But the number hasn't shifted since. Scientists today claimed Covid was an 'influencing' factor, with WFH set-ups 'more permissive' of regular smoking breaks.
Your browser does not support iframes. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2023 health report showed 12.7 per cent of Brits over the age of 15 smoke cigarettes daily, far higher than the US and New Zealand, the latter of which recently introduced a similar phased smoking ban Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, warned the statistics show 'the fight against tobacco is far from over'.
Across England, 45.5million cigarettes are now smoked every day, .
