Smoking could cause 300,000 cancer cases over the next five years, including 2,800 from secondhand smoke, according to new analysis.
The alarming statistics, released by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), show the ‘magnitude of damage’ caused by cigarettes and tobacco ‘cannot be ignored’.
The charity estimates that tobacco is responsible for an all-time high of 160 new cancer cases a day, and that around 2,500 young adults are still taking up smoking each week.
Its latest analysis comes ahead of the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill – which will aim to create the first smoke-free generation – in the House of Commons tomorrow.
The landmark legislation was recently introduced to Parliament and will extend smokefree spaces, introduce a licensing scheme for tobacco and vapes and progressively raise the age of sale of tobacco products.
CRUK’s study projects that cases of cancer caused by smoking could reach 296,661 during this parliamentary term – between July 2024 and July 2029.
Some 243,045 are estimated for England, followed by 29,365 in Scotland, 15,161 in Wales and 9,090 in Northern Ireland.
Overall, 2,846 cancer cases in the UK could be caused by exposure to secondhand smoke in people who have never smoked themselves, the analysis claims.
Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at CRUK, said: ‘Tobacco kills up to two thirds of its users.
‘The magnitude of damage caused by smoking cannot be ignored and these statistics expose the lives that are at stake.
‘We know that smoking rates decline with Government intervention. Raising the age of sale of tobacco products and funding cessation services will help to protect people from a lifetime of deadly and costly addiction.’
The charity is urging all MPs to vote in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which could prevent anyone born after January 1 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.
Restrictions on vape advertising and sponsorship could also be introduced as well as restrictions on flavours, displays and packaging to reduce their appeal to children and young people.
Meanwhile vaping and smoking in playgrounds and outside schools could also be banned.
‘The Tobacco and Vapes Bill could be one of the most impactful public health interventions in my lifetime,’ Dr Walker added.
‘People’s lives are now in the hands of politicians and I urge all MPs to vote for a future free from the harms of tobacco.’
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey estimates around 11.9 per cent of people aged 18 or over – the equivalent of around six million people – smoked cigarettes in the UK in 2023.
It is the lowest proportion of current smokers since ONS records began in 2011.
However, a CRUK-backed study published in October found that the equivalent of around 350 young adults aged 18 to 25 start smoking every day, with some 35,000 having taken up the habit since the King’s Speech in July.
