Study says two thirds of smokers in Britain will attempt to quit smoking for ‘Stoptober’
A new study conducted on behalf of a UK-based medical website has revealed that two thirds of smokers in Britain will attempt to stop smoking during Stoptober in a bid to give up the habit for good. Furthermore, it was found that those living in the South West of England are more likely to quit than anywhere else in the UK.
In order to discover how smokers are attempting to quit their cigarette addictions throughout Stoptober, a new piece of research conducted on behalf of an online pharmaceutical company has revealed how many smokers attempt to quit during the month of October and how many will triumph on their journey.
A survey conducted on behalf of www.MedExpress.co.uk polled a total of 2,839 UK-based adults, aged 18-65, for the purpose of the study. Each participant admitted they were a smoker and were spread evenly across each of the different regions within the UK.
Respondents were initially asked if they were going to try to give up smoking this year during ‘Stoptober’ with 65% saying they would. Individuals were then asked if they tried to do the same last year with 58% stating they did. Of these participants only 21% were successful in their attempt to give up for the entire 31 days.
Respondents were then asked to estimate how many cigarettes they smoked per day with the average answer being 23. They were then questioned why it was they were considering giving up for the month with the most common answers being for health reasons (52%) and because they were supporting a charitable cause (44%).
All respondents who tried to give up last year were then asked which region of the UK they lived in to determine what region was statistically the most likely to succeed in packing in the habit for the whole month. Here are the success rates of all 12 of the regions in order:
1. South West – 53% success rate
2. East Anglia – 44% success rate
3. South East – 38% success rate
4. Yorkshire – 32% success rate
5. Northern Island – 28% success rate
6. North East – 26%
7. Eastern – 22%
8. Scotland – 20%
9. East Midlands – 18%
10. West Midlands – 16%
11. North West – 14%
12. London – 10%
Participants were asked if they planned to use any products or services to help them quit smoking for the month. Almost two thirds (64%) stated they would be replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes or vapes. 23% said they would resort to ‘stop smoking treatments’, 22% stated they would be using the NHS stop smoking services and 15% insisted they would be going cold turkey with no outside help whatsoever.
Michael Ross, spokesperson for MedExpress.co.uk commented: “Making the decision to give up cigarettes for Stoptober is the first step in a very difficult uphill battle that will completely test your willpower. Nicotine is a very addictive substance, so whilst it’s disappointing how many people fail to quit the habit for just one month, it’s completely understandable at the same time.”
He continued: “E-cigarettes have become the go-to product for those who want to quit but this can be addictive in itself and it’s far better to try and give up without turning your addiction onto something else. Research suggests that prescription stop smoking tablets can double and sometimes even triple your chances of successfully quitting compared to who try to quit on their own.”
