The numbers of people in Scotland both attempting to quit – and successfully quitting – smoking have plunged dramatically, new figures reveal.
The Public Health Scotland stats show that the pandemic has accelerated the already-downward trend in smokers trying to give up the habit.
Between 2014/15 and 2021/22 the number of attempts to quit smoking plummeted by almost two-thirds from 66,775 to just 23,503.
In the same period, the number of successful quit attempts lasting more than 12 weeks fell by 45% from 7,270 to 3,913.
The figures – which come against a backdrop of real-terms cuts to smoking cessation budgets – are a hammer blow to the SNP Government’s goal of reducing the number of smokers in Scotland to just 5% of the population by 2034.
At present, it’s estimated that 19% of the Scottish population smoke – though this rises to 35% in the most deprived areas.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “These figures are worrying because, as well as doing huge damage to the health of the individual, smoking places a huge burden on our over-stretched NHS.
“Like many of the issues facing Scotland’s health service, the pandemic has merely exacerbated a pre-existing problem.
“The number of people trying to give up smoking has been falling for years on the SNP’s watch, at the same time as spending on programmes designed to help them quit has been reduced in real terms.
“That’s a completely false economy – and it’s those living in Scotland’s poorer communities who are suffering disproportionately from it.
“Giving up smoking is extremely difficult, and those who want to quit need all the help they can get from the SNP Government.
“If Ministers fail to act now, they will have no hope of reaching their target to reduce Scotland’s smoking rate to 5% of the population within 12 years.”
Notes
|
Financial year |
Number of quit attempts overall (excluding prisons) |
% change |
|
2014/15 |
66,775 |
|
|
2015/16 |
63,435 |
-5.0% |
|
2016/17 |
58,118 |
-8.4% |
|
2017/18 |
53,700 |
-7.6% |
|
2018/19 |
51,115 |
-4.8% |
|
2019/20 |
48,713 |
-4.7% |
|
2020/21 |
31,627 |
-35.1% |
|
2021/22 |
23,503 |
-25.7% |
|
Financial year |
Number of LDP quit attempts |
% change |
Number of LDP 12-week quits (excluding prisons) |
% change |
|
2014/15 |
41,773 |
7,270 |
||
|
2015/16 |
40,023 |
-4.2% |
7,971 |
9.6% |
|
2016/17 |
37,297 |
-6.8% |
7,770 |
-2.5% |
|
2017/18 |
34,672 |
-7.0% |
7,282 |
-6.3% |
|
2018/19 |
31,562 |
-9.0% |
7,258 |
-0.3% |
|
2019/20 |
30,027 |
-4.9% |
6,832 |
-5.9% |
|
2020/21 |
19,092 |
-36.4% |
5,986 |
-12.4% |
|
2021/22 |
14,465 |
-24.2% |
3,913 |
-34.6% |
Since 2014/15, the number of people attempting to quit smoking has plummeted by almost two thirds and is at a record low. In 2014/15, the number of quit attempts outside prisons was 66,775. In 2021/22, the number had plunged by 64.7% to 23,503. As a proportion of the total number of quit attempts, nearly three quarters (72.9%) were unsuccessful against the LDP 12-week standard. (Public Health Scotland, NHS smoking cessation local delivery plan standard quarterly, 26 July 2022, link).
The number of successful smoking quits at 12 weeks post quit has decreased by more than 45% since 2014/15 and is also at a record low. The target is that NHS Boards will sustain and embed successful smoking quits at 12 weeks post quit. However, the number of 12-week quits measurable under this standard declined from 7,290 in 2014/15 to 3,913 in 2021/22. (Public Health Scotland, NHS smoking cessation local delivery plan standard quarterly, 26 July 2022, link).
The pandemic has had a devastating impact on smoking cessation. The figures show that the number of quit attempts has declined by more than half (51.8%) since the beginning of the pandemic (comparing 2019/20’s figures with 2021/22’s). Likewise the number of LDP 12-week quits has decreased by 42.7%. (Public Health Scotland, NHS smoking cessation local delivery plan standard quarterly, 26 July 2022, link).
But even before the pandemic, the SNP Government were going backwards. Between 2014/15 and 2019/20, the number of quit attempts decreased by 27%, while the number of LDP 12-week quits declined similarly by 6%. (Public Health Scotland, NHS smoking cessation local delivery plan standard quarterly, 26 July 2022, link).
Despite the impact of the pandemic, funding for smoking cessation looks set to remain static in cash terms, meaning a real terms cut. Maree Todd said ‘we’re committed to providing £9 million a year for smoking cessation services’. There have been no announcements of increased funding to tackle a halving in the number of people attempting to quit smoking - and smoking is not mentioned in the SNP Government’s Covid-19 Recovery Strategy. (Written Answer from Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, 8 April 2022, link).
These figures expose a widening gap between the SNP Government’s ambition and their ability to deliver improvements on the ground. The SNP Government’s Tobacco Control Action Plan includes a target to reduce smoking prevalence in Scotland to 5% of the population by 2034. It’s currently estimated that adult smoking prevalence is currently 19% on average, although this is as high as 35% in the most deprived areas. (Scottish Health Survey, accessed 26 July 2022, link).