With the government announcing the launch of the 'swap to stop' scheme, in which one million smokers will be offered vape starter kits in a bid to make the nation "smoke free" research has revealed Walsall as the second city already most in pursuit of smoking cessation.
Residents of Walsall searched related terms at a rate just below that of Inverness with 488 searches per 100k, that is 283 per 100k, or a massive 138% over the national average.
The town showed a particular interest in nicotine patches, searching for them at a rate of almost 75 per 100k residents. Searches for simple terms like “Quit smoking” and “Quitting smoking” were also frequent.
UK residential rehab provider Abbeycare Foundation conducted a study, analysing Google search volumes for terms related to quitting smoking such as “Quit smoking”, “Go smoke free” and “Ways to quit smoking”. Also analysed were search terms for smoking alternatives such as “Nicotine patches” and “E Cigarettes”.
Residents of Inverness take the top spot with the most Google searches related to quitting smoking per 100k population. Terms such as “Quit smoking” and “Go smoke free” were popular, while similarly, queries about smoking alternatives such as E-cigarettes and nicotine patches and gum proved common. The city's search volume of 491 per 100k population is over the national average by an enormous 140%.
Hereford is the third city on the list with a search volume per 100k of 444, almost 240 per 100k or 116% over the national average. Residents here also showed an increased interest in nicotine patches with searches for these coming in at just over 30 per 100k, while other generic phrases regarding smoking cessation averaged around 15.
Welsh city of Wrexham comes fourth with a search volume per 100k of 441. Searches for “Quit smoking” and “Quitting smoking” being the most popularly searched terms. Wrexham residents also searched for “Nicotine patches” at one of the highest rates with just fewer than 50 searches per 100k.
In fifth place, residents of Mansfield searched relevant terms at just over 360 searches per 100k residents with searches for smoking alternatives coming at a similar frequency to those of simply quitting. Wigan closely follows in sixth with 339 searches per 100k and a similar spread of search terms as “Nicotine patches” continually proves to be the most popularly searched method of cessation.
Norfolk city of Norwich comes in seventh, garnering information and advice on quitting at a rate of 335 searches per 100k. “Go smoke free” proved a common search term with just below 30 per 100k. Norwich also boasts the highest total search volume in the top ten cities meaning without adjustment for population size, residents here searched these terms the most within this list.
Residents of Lincoln rank eight on the list, showing particular interest in nicotine patches with just below 50 searches per 100k residents. The city boasts an overall search volume per 100k for quitting related terms of 322.
Bath and Chester finalise the top ten cities with search volumes per 100k of 317 and 312 respectively, both with generic quitting terms being searched at a rate just over 10 per 100k.
A spokesperson for Abbeycare Foundation commented on the findings: “Smoking is one of the most prevalent addictions in the UK today. It’s very positive to see the volumes of people showing an interest in smoking cessation, and interesting to discover the areas in which there’s the largest sentiment for this kind of action."
If using this story, please hyperlink credit to https://www.abbeycarefoundation.com
