Column

Ten things you never knew about… tobacco

1.A report from 1573 tells how tobacco was being smoked in England as a remedy for lung diseases. By 1621 MPs were complaining that ‘thousands have died of this vile weed’.

2.A Canadian study showed that in recent years 25% of all deaths of people aged 35-84 could be attributed to tobacco use.

3.A sample of 210 heroin users were asked to rate their most needed drug from a list which included amphetamines, barbiturates, methadone, heroin, etc. Tobacco came out on top.

4. Over 90% of teenagers who smoke three or four cigarettes are trapped into a career of regular smoking which typically lasts 30-40 years.

5. Most smokers want to give up — but only 35% succeed in stopping permanently before the age of 60.

6. About 70% of smokers who survive a heart attack are smoking again within a year. Fifty percent of smokers resume the habit after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.

7. About 26,000 people are directly employed by the UK tobacco industry — down from 43,000 in 1963.

8. Over 70% of all money spent on tobacco in the UK goes to the Treasury.

9. The real price of cigarettes was rising until 1986 — but has fallen steadily since.

10. Though the NHS has provided treatment and counselling facilities for those with drug and alcohol problems, there has never been any formal NHS structure for any kind of service for smokers.