Non-cigarette tobacco smoking soared over last decade

cigars and pipes There are around five times more people smoking non-cigarette tobacco in England now than there were a decade ago, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, funded by Cancer Research UK and published today in Nicotine and Tobacco Research , revealed that in 2013, there were around 151,200 exclusive non-cigarette tobacco users, but by September 2023, this figure had risen to around 772,800. Strikingly, the greatest increase was seen in 18-year-olds. Smoking cigars, cigarillos, pipes, or shisha cause many types of cancer, including lung, mouth and upper throat, oesophageal, larynx and stomach cancers. They are also linked with pancreatic, bladder and liver cancers. Possible causes of the increase include widespread concern about cigarette smoking worsening coronavirus symptoms, so people may have switched to products they perceived as being less harmful. Financial difficulties may have also caused people to switch from cigarettes to cheaper options, researchers concluded.