YouGov, tobacco control's favourite pollster, has carried out yet another smoking-related survey, this time for Cancer Research UK.
The majority of smokers and ex-smokers – 85 per cent – regret ever starting the potentially deadly habit in the first place, show new data from Cancer Research UK published today (Saturday).
The YouGov survey of 4099 (including 1746 current and ex-smokers) men and women in the UK also showed that over three quarters of these smokers (77 per cent) took up smoking regularly when they were still only teenagers – some as young as 13.
And a third chose to smoke the same brand of cigarettes as their family and friends when they first started buying a specific brand regularly.
This data adds to the growing evidence of support behind Cancer Research UK’s campaign, The Answer is Plain, to remove all glitzy, glamorous branding from cigarette packets while keeping the health warnings.
I'm not going to waste a warm, sunny Saturday morning finding fault with a survey that I'm sure was carried out to YouGov's normal high standards of impartiality, but it would be interesting to know how many current smokers were polled, as opposed to ex-smokers.
Meanwhile a cursory glance at today's media suggests very little appetite for a survey that, in our experience, will have cost about £5,000. No doubt it will be included in CRUK's submission to the plain pack consultation. Thank goodness for that four week extension!
20 days to go ...
Full press release (and video): Most regret ever starting smoking (CRUK)