University College London (UCL) have recently discovered that the increasing cost of a packet of cigarettes is encouraging one in four adults to stop smoking in England.
‘The harmful effects of smoking on health have always been a strong motivator for people wanting to stop smoking,’ said Dr Sarah Jackson, from UCL, who was the lead author of this study. However, the research discovered that 23% of the respondents said cost was their main motivator to quit the harmful habit.
According to the findings, the average price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is now more than £14 – and will increase to £16 in 2026.
In addition to cost, experts found that more than one in three (35.5%) people involved in the study said they were concerned about future health problems that can be caused by smoking, compared with one in five (19%) who were motivated to stop as a result of current health problems.
Scientists involved in the study said: ‘It is likely the pandemic made health concerns (an already prevalent motive) even more salient, particularly during its first year when the virus was spreading rapidly and vaccinations were not yet available.’
Although, researchers discovered that there was little change in the proportion of quit attempts motivated by health concerns across the study period, which ran from 2018-23. But, the number of people who tried to quit due to the cost of cigarettes increased significantly – in March 2018 the number was at 18% but this rose to just under 25,5% in May 2023.
Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson, of the UCL Tobacco & Alcohol Research Group, said: ‘The harmful effects of smoking on health have always been a strong motivator for people wanting to stop smoking. Our data show that cost is another increasingly important influence on people’s quit attempts. This is not surprising, given the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis have put considerable pressure on household budgets over the last few years.
‘The average smoker spends around £20 a week on cigarettes, so quitting smoking offers considerable potential to reduce their outgoings – even if they switch to other nicotine products like e-cigarettes, which are not only less harmful but more affordable.’
News of the study coincides with government plans to create the first-ever smoke free generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. MPs have recently voted to back the Prime Minister’s latest project, but the approach still has to pass through the House of Lords for it to be made into law.
Image: Julia Engel
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