One in five Brits is a secret smoker, new research has revealed. Experts who carried out a detailed report found that while around one in ten adults is an open and honest smoker, almost twice as many keep their habit from their friends, family and colleagues.
The worrying number of people who sneak away from social situations or pop out of the house to quickly light-up emerged in a study carried out by insurers Endsleigh.
The survey, which questioned people’s attitude to risk across several areas of their lives, also found those in Wales to be most likely to have ‘a crafty fag’, closely followed by those living in the North West.
Steve Barnes of Endsleigh, which polled 2,000 adults, said:
“People should remember that any kind of smoking in a 12 month period classes you as a smoker in the eyes of an insurance company.
”It doesn’t matter if it’s an occasional secret cigarette in times of stress or a regular habit, in order to be classified as a non-smoker by life insurance companies you need to have abstained from smoking or from using nicotine replacement products for at least 12 to 18 months.”
The North East also has highest number of people who said they smoke and drink regularly.
People in Yorkshire and Humberside had the highest number of people who said they very rarely drank and never smoked were
Whilst over half of the people surveyed claimed never to smoke and only drink on rare occasions, 44% of respondents admitted to cigarette smoking over the past 12 months at the risk of endangering their health, alongside a more relaxed attitude to drinking.
