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03 Jul 2008
Anti-smoking legislation has had a dramatic impact on the number of people at risk of developing lung cancer, figures reveal.
A year on from the introduction of the smoking ban across the UK, an estimated 400,000 people have kicked the habit, potentially preventing thousands of deaths.
According to Cancer Research UK, the smoking ban triggered the biggest drop in smoking ever seen in England. It claimed that smoke-free law will help prevent an estimated 40,000 deaths over the next ten years.
Sara Hiom, the charity's director of health information, commented: "Research shows that the smoke-free law is not only protecting workers from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, but it is also encouraging smokers to quit."
The Smoking Toolkit Study – funded by Cancer Research UK, McNeil, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline - is the first study in the world to examine in detail the impact on smoking rates solely from smoke-free legislation without the influence of any other tobacco control measures.
The findings indicated that decline in smoking prevalence for the nine months before July, when the UK ban was enforced, was 1.6 per cent compared to an impressive 5.5 per cent in the nine months post July.
An updated report from the European Public Health Alliance states that more and more countries in Europe are adopting stricter legislation on smoking in public places.
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