Is the Smoking Ban Working?

There are signs that the ban on smoking in public places that was extended to England and Wales last summer is having an effect on the number of people trying to kick the habit. The information Centre for Health and Social Care released data today which said that nearly 165,000 smokers managed to kick the smoking habit in the summer of 2007 with the help of NHS Stop Smoking Services - this is a 28 per cent increase in the number of successful quitters.

Quitters are those who manage to avoid another cigarette in the four weeks after following the programme. Of the 8,619 pregnant women who set a quit date, 4,084 successfully quit. Stopping smoking seems to be easier as we get older - the ICHSC reports that success at the four-week follow up increased with age, from 37 per cent of those aged under 18, to 59 per cent of those aged 60 and over.

There has been a long term decline in cigarette consumption in the UK aided by substantial increases in the real value of tobacco duty and by numerous information campaigns.  The survey data only refers to people who have quit smoking in the short term, naturally a sizeable percentage of people return to their habit later on.

This BBC news article looks at the new data.

Some questions for students

Do you think that the smoking ban is an appropriate government policy?
What are the externalities from smoking?
Should one count passive smoking as an external cost?
What are the alternative policies to a smoking ban in public places?

Unit 1 Micro: Revision Presentation on Externalities [16 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Public Bads [12 May 2012]
musical negative externalities [1 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Externalities - Deepwater Horizon 2 Years On [21 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Ban on cigarette display advertising [12 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: 50 years of anti-smoking campaigns and awareness [6 Mar 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Per Capita Incomes [26 Jan 2012]
Externalities in Action- TED Talk [23 Jan 2012]
Externalities in song [22 Jan 2012]
Externalities Cartoon [22 Jan 2012]
Hopes and Fears 2012 [10 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision MC Questions on Negative Externalities [8 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Externalities from Metal Theft [2 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Video Clips on Negative Production Externalities [29 Dec 2011]
Behavioural Economics: Herd Behaviour [28 Nov 2011]
Fat tax: Denmark [5 Oct 2011]
Electric car charging points ‘shortfall’ [11 May 2011]
Externalities of Oil Pollution [22 Apr 2011]
Externalities of Nitrogen Pollution in Europe [16 Apr 2011]
Tuesday Talks - the cycling city [8 Mar 2011]
EU Economics: Hopes for a low carbon future in Europe [3 Feb 2011]
The Externalities of Plastic [24 Jan 2011]
Consumption Graphic [19 Jan 2011]
Economics Q&A: Tragedy of the Commons and Market Failure [18 Jan 2011]
A seasonal introduction to Consumption, Government Spending and Aggregate Demand. [22 Dec 2010]
Chips - a demerit good. [11 Nov 2010]
Switching Off Street Lighting [10 Nov 2010]
Picturenomics (1) - Congestion and Externalities [18 Oct 2010]
Finding new opportunities among the economic wreckage [1 Jun 2010]
AS Macro Revision: The Importance of Consumption [30 May 2010]
Economics of the EU Revision - Carbon Taxes [26 May 2010]
Is the UK coal industry turning a corner? [24 May 2010]
AS Economics Revision - Government Failure [18 May 2010]
AS Economics Revision - Managing the Economy [2 May 2010]
AS Economics Revision - Dissecting the Recession [1 May 2010]
Recycling batteries - keeping things simple [10 Feb 2010]
Some new video pieces on externalities [2 Feb 2010]
Is hitch-hiking the most carbon efficient form of transport? [17 Jan 2010]
Alcohol information failure [13 Jan 2010]
Consumption externalities in Singapore [17 Nov 2009]
New series of BBC Earth Report - Deforestation and Externalities [27 Oct 2009]
Scots may lead the way in setting minimum price for alcohol [29 Sep 2009]
Consumer Spending and Saving in the UK Economy [18 Aug 2009]
£1bn programme to electrify the Great Western Mainline [23 Jul 2009]
Economics Trivia - Smoking around the world [20 Jul 2009]
Q&A: Demerit Goods and Negative Production Externalities [31 May 2009]
Economies of Scale for Wind Farms [23 May 2009]
Revision: Consumption and the Trade Balance [4 May 2009]
Revision: Aggregate Demand [3 May 2009]
Cash Incentives for Healthy Options [11 Apr 2009]
How low can they go? [4 Dec 2008]
Consumers stung by slump in bee population [21 Nov 2008]
Experinomics Resources [17 Nov 2008]
What if the consumer abandons the economy? [31 Oct 2008]
Monday’s Economics Reading [6 Oct 2008]
A negative savings ratio - the first since 1958! [30 Sep 2008]
Back to the cave or a brave new world? [22 Sep 2008]
End tobacco smoking by 2025? [9 Sep 2008]
Economic cost of fuel subsidies [17 Aug 2008]
15 Charts on the UK Economy to Kickstart Lessons in September 08 [14 Jul 2008]
Ricardo Rules OK? [15 May 2008]
Mervyn faces the Music [14 May 2008]
Does a current account deficit matter? [7 May 2008]
Revision: Labour Market Failure [21 Apr 2008]
UK National Accounts for 2007 [28 Mar 2008]
Revision: Household Saving [25 Mar 2008]
OCR 2888 - June Case Study - Broad Themes [24 Mar 2008]
Dioxin contamination and illegal dumping of waste [22 Mar 2008]
Getting real…? [22 Mar 2008]
Russia’s new road to economic growth [10 Mar 2008]
Money Programme: Green Fuel Gamble [9 Mar 2008]
Information failure on plastic bags? [9 Mar 2008]
Merit and De_Merit Goods [7 Mar 2008]
A Licence To Print Money? [15 Feb 2008]
The London Pollution Charge [13 Feb 2008]
Unintended consequences of the smoking ban [9 Feb 2008]

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