Smoking becomes ‘huge hurdle’ for Britons amid cost of living crisis

A new study shows that more than half of smokers in the UK are ready to give up cigarettes because of the high cost of living.

Cigarette prices will be raised by 12.7%, the government recently announced in its crackdown to keep more people from smoking. Grocery prices in supermarkets are also rising, so households are finding ways to cut costs.

And studies show that 52% of smokers are willing to quit the habit and use alternative nicotine products like nicotine sachets or vapes instead.

One in three UK smokers admitted they would not want to switch to cheaper cigarette brands, indicating that nicotine alternatives are definitely the preferred choice.

The survey by Haypp, an organization dedicated to tobacco-free alternatives, also found that 40% of Britons said they needed clearer information about nicotine alternatives and that having this information would help them reduce their cigarette use.

A survey of British smokers more generally questioned the top motivations for quitting and found that the top five reasons for quitting were:

• To reduce the risk of serious illness

• Save money / spend less

• To stop addictive behavior

• To avoid bad breath and clothes

• Want to be able to do more exercise

“We conducted this study to find out how the cost of living crisis and recent inflation will affect smokers in the UK, and whether the price hike has been a huge setback for consumers or not,” explained Markus Linblad, director of Haypp.

“While many Britons are currently struggling, on the positive side, the crisis has increased the desire to quit a very unhealthy and costly habit like smoking.

“It’s great to see that people are also willing to switch to nicotine alternatives such as pods, which are known to be less harmful, more affordable and increase the chances of success in breaking the cigarette habit.”