Smokers not inspired by Stoptober

It's 'Stoptober' this month but only 54% of smokers are aware of the anti-smoking campaign and even fewer plan to quit.

A poll of 1,000 British smokers found that less than a fifth intend to participate by giving up cigarettes this month.

The survey, carried out by OnePoll for the E-Lites electronic cigarette company, highlighted how hard it is to kick the habit, with just under half (47.3%) saying they did not expect to quit in the next 12 months.

Overall, 45% described the process of trying to give up smoking as ‘hard’ or ‘very hard’.

Over half expressed an interest in using electronic cigarettes as a less harmful alternative to tobacco cigarettes.

Of those surveyed, 18% had tried electronic cigarettes, with health being the most popular motivator - electronic cigarettes are free from tobacco and tar.

Just under two thirds of those who had tried the devices (62%) said they still use them on a regular basis.

E-Lites chief executive Adrian Everett said: “The Stoptober initiative will undoubtedly be a great motivation for some smokers, but we’re talking about a minority of less than one-in-five.

"Consideration should be given to ‘swapping’ as opposed to the single challenge of ‘stopping’ which, as this survey demonstrates, is immensely challenging for millions of smokers in this country."