The study also revealed smokers' willingness to openly disregard the law by lighting up in prohibited areas, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“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 are convincing themselves that they are consuming less tobacco than they actually are by classing their habit as a ‘social' one,” said Catherine Cox, primary care manager from The Co-operative Pharmacy.
“People see it as more acceptable to be social smoker than admitting they regularly light up each day, even though our research shows that this is the case,” added Cox.