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Lowest Number Ever of Smokers in UK
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by Karenke4 | January 22, 2009 at 02:51 pm
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Aggressive health campaigns banning smokers from lighting up at work and bars have had the desired effect of decreasing the percentage of smokers in the UK.
Officials now state that 21% of residents are smokers, down from 22% from the previous year. And more people than ever have never started the habit at all.
Cigarette use is slightly more common among men, with 22 per cent smoking compared with 20 per cent of women. Half say they started when they were under 16, and most claim to smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes a day.
There is also a class divide among smokers, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those in manual work smoking compared with just 15 per cent of the professional classes.
The smoking ban went into effect in July 2007 and included bans in offices, pubs and work places. It also included more severe warnings on cigarette packaging.
"The figures show that the smoking ban is having the expected effect, removing the possibility of smoking in the workplace and encouraging people to give up."
But he added: "The problem remains in preventing people from taking up the habit in the first place, seen by the rise in the number of men aged 16 to 19 smoking."
Similar bans have taken place around the globe. The US has instituted smoking bans within a certain amount of space around buildings, in many bars, restaurants and businesses, as well as dorms and college campuses. Still, research shows they are behind the UK in smokers per capita, especially male smokers.
In the United States, an estimated 25.6 million men (25.2 percent) and 22.6 million women (20.7 percent) are smokers.
Smoking numbers have gone down however, and it is because of this that many people are living longer lives. While other factors, including air quality and better socio-economic factors have contributed to longevity, smoking appears to be the leading factor.
Changes in smoking habits are the biggest reason why Americans are living longer, said Arden Pope, an epidemiologist at Brigham Young University in Utah who led the study.
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smartstreetsat 08:22 on January 26th, 2009
The blight of cigarette litter and chewing gum litter is the number one complaint from communities across the UK every year - especially after the smoking ban came into effect. The problem Councils have is that they are tasked with de-cluttering the streets at the same time they need to be putting more disposal facilities in to deal with the micro litter problem. Smartstreets Ltd (new product designers and developers) were approached by UK local Government to design a litter disposal solution which would help them meet these two opposing tasks - to produce an architecturally sensitive solution for litter that would blend with existing street furniture. The answer is the Smartstreets-Smartbin. A range of litter bins designed specifically to wrap around existing street furniture such as lamp columns and sign posts.. as well as being capable of fixing to walls, bollards and railings to offer a consistent litter disposal facility wherever it is needed most without overwhelming the street scene. Smartstreets have supplied the Smarststreets-Smartbin to over 40 Council customers since launch in 2007 and now ship this multi patented, award winning litter bin solution all over the world. For further information about these and other unique litter bin solutions from Smartstreets, please visit http://www.smartstreets.co.uk or visit our gallery at http://www.smartstreets.eu and find out how we can help your city reduce chewing gum and cigarette litter in your city, making your urban areas cleaner, safer and smarter for everyone.
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DarioCat 17:08 on February 2nd, 2009
Paula Gilbert by DarioC, photoshoot for LuddaFilms new production 'Such is Life'
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