• 17.6% of Chinese men smoke compared to 8.2% of Chinese women
• Chinese smokers urged to join the millions of people who have given up smoking as new data reveals that there are now twice as many ex-smokers (14.6 million people), than current smokers in England (7.2 million) as sales of cigarettes decrease
• Smoking rates in England are the lowest ever on record at 16.9% so Stoptober is back for a fifth year to encourage the nation’s remaining 7 million smokers to quit together this October
• A range of support and advice available for quitters including the Stoptober app and new Facebook Messenger tool, for more information search Stoptober online

Smokers in Chinese communities in Britain are being urged to take part in Stoptober – the 28 day mass quit attempt from Public Health England starting in the first week of October – and join nearly 15 million people across the country who have quit already.

 Latest figures reveal that 17.6% of Chinese men are smokers, compared with a national average of 19.1%. Conversely, Chinese women have relatively low smoking rates of 8.2%, compared with a 14.9% of women overall.

Out of the 2.5 million smokers who made a quit attempt throughout the whole of last year, 500,000 people (20%) were successful – the highest recorded success rate and up from just 13.6% six years ago.

This increase in successful stop smoking attempts reflects the high number of people using quitting aids. In 2015, just over a million people (1,027,000) used an e-cigarette in a quit attempt while around 700,000 used a licensed nicotine replacement product such as patches or gum. In addition over 350,000 people used their local stop smoking service in 2015/16.

Alongside this, according to the latest data from Nielsen, the number of cigarettes sold in England and Wales has dropped by 20% in the last two years.

Dr. Gina Radford, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said:

“While we know that quitting smoking is not easy, this Stoptober is a perfect time to try again. The best thing a smoker can do for their health is to stop smoking. There is more help and support available now than ever before.  The introduction of standardised packs removes the glamorous branding and brings health warnings to the fore and e-cigarettes, which many smokers find helpful for quitting, are now regulated to assure their safety and quality.

“We also have a range of free support that can go direct to your phone, laptop or tablet via the Stoptober app, a daily email service or Facebook Messenger bot. The new Stoptober website also has advice and information on stop smoking services and quitting aids. Stoptober has helped lots of smokers quit for 28 days and beyond. So if you smoke, why not make this Stoptober the time you quit – for good.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director of Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England said:

“While it is amazing that there are over twice as many ex-smokers as current smokers in England there are still over 7 million people regularly lighting up.

“Alongside unhealthy diet, smoking is the biggest cause of preventable early death in England, accounting for over 78,000 deaths a year. Quitters will soon see they have reduced blood pressure, easier breathing and better circulation. Stopping smoking is the best thing a smoker can do to improve their health.

“It is an opportunity for Chinese communities to get behind this year’s campaign and take full advantage of the support available throughout the month and beyond.”

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said:

“Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your heart health. Coronary Heart Disease is the UK’s single biggest killer and by giving up smoking you’ll be dramatically reducing your chances of having a potentially deadly heart attack or stroke.

“Stoptober is the perfect opportunity for people to take action to protect their health and join thousands of others who are also making a quit attempt this month.”

Stoptober is back for a fifth year, having driven almost a million quit attempts to date.  It starts on the 1^st October and is based on research that by the time you have quit for 28 days you are 5 times more likely to stop for good.

For more information, search ‘Stoptober’ online and choose the package of support that will help you quit for good.