About half of those lighting cigarettes are secret smokers

According to a new study, more than half of those lighting a cigarette a day hide their dirty habit from friends and family and are thus secret smokers.

The Co-operative Pharmacy poll found that several people have become secret smokers due to reasons like social stigma as well as the ban that was imposed in 2007. About 57% of those who smoke hide their habits from others.
The poll noted that walking the dog, going out to see a friend or nipping to the shop were among the most common excuses for going for a smoke by secret smokers. The researchers found that a third of the respondents said that they smoke less since the ban in 2007 while four-fifth said they wished to quit smoking. In the survey, about one in twelve said they were officially forbidden from smoking at home.
Interestingly, about one in eight believe that they have quit smoking but still have the “odd” cigarette and about half think they have quit if they only light up once a day.
Fiona Caplan-Dean, clinical services manager at The Co-operative Pharmacy said, “The smoking ban in public places has had a major effect on the health of the nation with a significant number of people giving up but many smokers now try to keep their habit secret from their partner, children, friends and family.”

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