Smokers quitting in huge numbers, research reveals

A survey for charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) shows that 41% of people who had quit in the previous four months said it was in direct response to coronavirus.

In addition, University College London has found more people quit smoking in the year to June 2020 than in any year since its survey began in 2007.

Ash director Deborah Arnott said: “Over a million smokers have succeeded in stopping smoking since Covid-19 hit Britain, but that still leaves nearly five times as many who have carried on smoking.”

Ash is launching a stop-smoking campaign funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, targeting people in areas of the country with the highest rates of smoking.