More Ex Smokers Than Smokers in UK

Figures from anti-smoking charity ASH show that about 22% of men and 19% of women in the UK are current smokers, compared to 27% of men and 22% of women who have quit.

The writing has been on the wall for a long time. In 1974, more than 50% of adult males in the UK smoked tobacco. The figure has more than halved in 40 years.

In the US, smoking rates dropped by half between 1965 and 2006. Rates are higher in continental Europe, but the pattern is still edging towards overall decline.

Of the aforementioned ex-smokers in Britain, 17.7% are using electronic cigarettes, a figure which has risen from 2.7% in 2010. Of that figure, 71% are using e-cigarettes to help quit smoking altogether, with 48% using them to "keep them off tobacco".

When you consider these statistics, today's news that Imperial Tobacco posted big declines in revenue and operating profits for the half year to 31 March isn't all that surprising. British American Tobacco last week also reported a fall in revenue (12%) – it's an industry-wide trend.

The most notable factor in Imperial's results, however, has been the impact of tighter regulation in Russia, which banned tobacco advertising and smoking in many public places last year. The company directly credited these pieces of legislation with helping trim 17% from its operating profit margins.

Russia is the second largest tobacco market in the world, after China. Anyone who has spent time in a smoky Moscow bar or café will attest to the city's status as a smokers' paradise. Is the decision to progress with anti-smoking policy indicative of a turning tide in markets which have been extremely kind to tobacco companies?

Demand has traditionally been much less elastic in emerging markets. The viral YouTube video of a two-year old Indonesian boy smoking a cigarette remains etched in the memory of millions, howls of laughter enveloping the adults around him.

The video was symbolic of the way in which big tobacco has taken advantage of a lack of cynicism towards their products in such markets. Even today, Imperial implied that its performance in emerging markets is propping up subdued demand in the west (Russia was the notable exception).

But is this soon to change?

*Info Supplied by IBT