Earlier in May, we wrote about how COVID-19 has pushed 300,000 people in the UK to quit smoking over health concerns. Now, that number has more than tripled, with figures suggesting that 1 million people in Britain have given up the habit since the pandemic hit in March.
The data comes from a survey conducted by charity Action on Smoking Health (ASH), which looked at more than 10,000 people from mid-April to late June to estimate the number of people giving up the habit. It also found that further 440,000 people have tried to quit smoking during coronavirus.
The healthy decisions may partly be the result of government advice, which encouraged the UK’s 7.4 million smokers to kick the habit during the pandemic since they may be at risk of more severe symptoms of COVID-19.
In an effort to help more smokers to stay away from cigarettes, a new campaign by ASH is hoping to reach out to those who want to quit but have not yet succeeded. Hopefully, this healthy trend continues to grow at the same rate once the pandemic is over.
