Facts About Smoking

Around 106,000 people in the UK are killed by smoking every year, accounting for one fifth of
all UK deaths.

Lung cancer kills more people than any other type of cancer and around 83% of these deaths
are caused by smoking.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including tar, nicotine, benzene, carbon
monoxide and ammonia.

The average smoker will lose about 10 years of life because of their smoking.

Within a year of stopping smoking risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a continuing
smoker, and within 10 years risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker.

30 minutes exposure to second-hand smoke is sufficient to reduce coronary blood flow in

otherwise healthy adults.

Non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoking in the home have a 25% increased risk of heart
disease and lung cancer.

Passive smoking can be a cause of lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease in adult non-
smokers, and a cause of respiratory disease, middle ear disease and asthma attacks in children.

Female smokers’ chances of conceiving fall by 10%–40% per menstrual cycle.

Women who smoke during pregnancy:

 have a 27% higher chance of a miscarriage;

 are twice as likely to experience premature labour;
 are more likely to have children who suffer breathlessness and wheezing in the first six
months of their life.

Men who smoke have a lower sperm count than non-smokers, and their semen contains a
higher proportion of malformed sperm

In houses where both parents smoke, young children have a 72% increased risk of respiratory
illnesses.

More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital in the UK every year
because of the effects of passive smoking.

Children’s mental development – reading and reasoning skills – is affected by even a low level
of smoke exposure.

The majority of smokers are within the 20–34 age bracket.

Nearly one in five young people aged 16–19 currently smoke.