Decline in number of smokers in Peterborough area - but still too many

Campaign group Action on Smoking and Health says smoking remains the leading cause of premature death in the UK, and that there is a long way to go before the country is truly smoke-free.

The Office for National Statistics estimates just under one in five (18.8) per cent of adults in Peterborough were smokers in 2019 - despite anti-smoking taxes pushing prices of a packet of 20 towards above the £10 mark for many brands these days.

Smoking rates have fallen in the area from 2018, when 19.5 per cent of those aged 18 and over smoked.

The ONS estimates a further 27.3 per cent of adults have quit smoking in Peterborough, with the remaining 53.9 per cent saying they had never done so.

Men were more likely to smoke than women – 21.6 per cent of males were smokers, compared to 16.1 per cent of females.

Throughout the UK, the proportion of smokers has fallen every year since 2011, reaching a record low of 14.1 per cent in 2019.

Across England, the rate now stands at 13.9 per cent – the lowest of all four countries in the UK.

Anti-smoking charity ASH says there are “enormous differences” across the country when it comes to smoking habits.

In Corby, in the East Midlands, 27.5 per cent of adults were smokers in 2019, compared to just 3.4 per cent in Hart, in the South East.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “The year-on-year decline in the proportion of people smoking has continued so only one in seven people now smoke, the lowest ever recorded.

“But that means there are 6.9 million smokers, and smoking remains the leading cause of premature death in the UK killing nearly 100,000 people a year, with 30 times as many living with serious smoking-related diseases.

“We’ve still got a long way to go before this country is truly smoke-free.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said England’s smoking rate of 13.9 per cent is one of the best in Europe, but is still short of the Government’s 2017 Tobacco control plan of 12 per cent or less.

She added: “The UK is recognised internationally for its tough regulatory approach on tobacco control and reducing smoking harms.

“However, we are not complacent and our ambition is for England to become a smoke-free society by 2030.”