Make a new year quit attempt to help with cost of living

It comes as Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) publishes its new smoking and poverty briefing which highlights smoking as a key driver of inequalities in wealth as well as health. The average cost of smoking (£2,451 a year) is now equivalent to the average household’s annual energy bills (£2,500). By taking action to quit for 2023, smokers can improve their health and well-being as well as gaining a significant cash boost to offset household bills for fuel or food, or even pay towards a treat for them or their families.

Smoking is not a lifestyle choice but an addiction. Most smokers started in childhood, with two-thirds of those trying one cigarette going on to become daily, addicted smokers. Quitting can be tough, on average it takes 30 attempts to succeed, but getting help can increase your chances of success significantly, as Andrew Foster from Sheffield found.