Smoking rates amongst Bangladeshi men 'highest in the country'

Latest figures reveal that 24.6% of Bangladeshi men (1 in 4) are smokers, one of the highest rates in the country, compared with a national average of 19.1% (1 in 5). 18.2% of men from the Pakistani community and 12.5% from the Indian community are smokers.

Bangladeshi women, however, have some of the lowest smoking rates in England, with only 3.9% choosing to smoke, compared with an average of 14.9% of women across the country.

Out of the 2.5 million smokers who made a quit attempt throughout the whole of last year, 500,000 people (20%) were successful – the highest recorded success rate and up from just 13.6% six years ago.

This increase in successful stop smoking attempts reflects the high number of people using quitting aids. In 2015, just over a million people (1,027,000) used an e-cigarette in a quit attempt while around 700,000 used a licensed nicotine replacement product such as patches or gum. In addition over 350,000 people used their local stop smoking service in 2015/16.

Alongside this, according to the latest data from Nielsen, the number of cigarettes sold in England and Wales has dropped by 20% in the last two years.

Dr. Gina Radford, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said, “While we know that quitting smoking is not easy, this Stoptober is a perfect time to try again.

"The best thing a smoker can do for their health is to stop smoking. There is more help and support available now than ever before.

"The introduction of standardised packs removes the glamorous branding and brings health warnings to the fore and e-cigarettes, which many smokers find helpful for quitting, are now regulated to assure their safety and quality.

“We also have a range of free support that can go direct to your phone, laptop or tablet via the Stoptober app, a daily email service or Facebook Messenger bot.

"The new Stoptober website also has advice and information on stop smoking services and quitting aids. Stoptober has helped lots of smokers quit for 28 days and beyond. So if you smoke, why not make this Stoptober the time you quit – for good.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director of Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England said, “While it is amazing that there are over twice as many ex-smokers as current smokers in England there are still over 7 million people regularly lighting up.

“Alongside unhealthy diet, smoking is the biggest cause of preventable early death in England, accounting for over 78,000 deaths a year. Quitters will soon see they have reduced blood pressure, easier breathing and better circulation.

"Stopping smoking is the best thing a smoker can do to improve their health.

“It is an opportunity for Asian communities to get behind this year’s campaign and take full advantage of the support available throughout the month and beyond.”

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said, “Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your heart health. Coronary Heart Disease is the UK’s single biggest killer and by giving up smoking you’ll be dramatically reducing your chances of having a potentially deadly heart attack or stroke.

“Stoptober is the perfect opportunity for people to take action to protect their health and join thousands of others who are also making a quit attempt this month.” Stoptober is back for a fifth year, having driven almost a million quit attempts to date. It starts on the 1st October and is based on research that by the time you have quit for 28 days you are 5 times more likely to stop for good.