Health impact of smoking and smoking cessation services

Smoking kills over 80 000 people in England every year and continues to be the main cause of preventable death, accounting for more than the next six biggest causes combined (NHS Information Centre, 2011). Smoking prevalence in the UK has been falling since the 1970s, but the rate of decline has slowed considerably in the past decade and it is currently estimated at 20% (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2012). Smoking rates concentrate among socio-economically deprived groups and people with mental health problems, where they can reach rates of 40% (Hiscock et al, 2012) and 70% (Campion et al, 2008) respectively. Smoking is considered the main contributory factor to health inequalities and accounts for approximately half of the difference in life expectancy seen between the lowest and highest income groups (Marmot, 2010).