The number of people who smoke has dropped in the UK, as vaping has become more popular. Smoker numbers fell to the lowest on record in 2021, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The proportion of adults who smoked dropped to 13.3% from 14% in 2020. When the records began in 2011, 20.2% of adults smoked.  As the number of smokers fell, the proportion of over 16s using e-cigarettes increased. According to ONS data, 7.7% of over 16s vaped in 2021 compared to 6.4% in 2020.  James Tucker, analyst at the ONS, suggested that the decrease in smoking could be l ..read more

The Oral Health Foundation is urging the public to watch out for mouth cancer symptoms, as UK cases hit a record high. Following its annual Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, which ran throughout November, the charity is calling for people to keep a close eye on their mouths and get symptoms checked out. More than 8,800 new cases of oral cancer were diagnosed in the UK in 2021. This represents an increase of 34% in a decade and 103% in the last twenty years. During Mouth Cancer Action Month, the Oral Health Foundation worked with other organisations, including the Mouth Cancer Foundation, to ..read more

A new global report suggests that almost half of the population has an oral disease.  The Global Oral Health Status Report shows that 45% of the world’s population suffers from an oral disease. This equates to approximately 3.5 billion people.  During the last thirty years, the number of cases of oral diseases has soared by around one billion. Over 70% of cases affect populations in low and middle-income nations.  Speaking about the report, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that oral health has “long been neglected.” He ..read more

New data suggests that fluoridated water reduces the risk of tooth decay in young children, but its impact is limited in tackling dental health inequalities. The study focused on two locations in Cumbria. One area had no access to fluoridated water and the other had recently restarted water fluoridation. In both areas, the research team analysed and collected data from two groups of children: one group was aged 5 years old when fluoridation relaunched in 2013 and the other group comprised babies who were born after the programme restarted. Researchers collected data from regular checks on the ..read more