Smoking Rates Fall And Rise
While smoking rates have fallen in the North of England, research from University College London shows it has risen in the South and South-West
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by Dave Cross
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Smoking rates have fallen more quickly in the north of England compared to other regions, according to a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers. This is countered by a rise of 17% in the South-West and smoking rates going up by 10% in the south of England.
The researchers say the fall in the northern rates “has helped to narrow significant gaps in smoking prevalence between different areas of the country, with the study suggesting that rates in the north of England are now as low as in the south.”
Clearly, rising rates there contributed significantly.
The research team say they analysed Smoking Toolkit Study data from 368,057 adults in England between 2006 and 2024.
Spanning nearly two decades, the study aimed to examine how smoking rates differed across regions – including areas with and without dedicated tobacco control activity.
The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Addiction, also found that smoking decline had slowed more recently, between 2020 and 2024.
Not included as part of this study, but potentially having a large impact, is the combined influence of misinformation and the Conservative/Labour governments’ shift to aggressive anti-vaping policies equating vaping with smoking.
Over the past 18 years, the study found that:
- The largest – and fastest – fall in smoking was in the north of England where rates nearly halved (28.8% to 15.8%), compared to a fall of around a quarter in the south (22.7% to 17.3%).
- In the region defined as having sustained tobacco control activity (the north east), smoking prevalence fell by -13.3%, compared with -9.3% in regions with none. Researchers note other factors could have also contributed to this difference, including demographic shifts such as changing levels of deprivation.
- Smoking rates fell more in areas with historically higher smoking rates, helping to narrow differences between regions.
Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: “Until recently, smoking rates were highest in the north of England, but our study shows that regional differences have narrowed considerably over the past 18 years. Smoking rates fell most in northern regions, where dedicated regional tobacco control programmes have been largely concentrated.
“But across England progress has stalled in recent years, and in some regions smoking rates appear to be increasing. It’s vital that stop smoking services are made easily and equally available across the country, so that everyone – wherever they live – can access the right tools to quit for good.”
Despite the findings, Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy and information, used the opportunity to demand MPs vote in favour of the government’s anti-vaping Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
References
- Trends in smoking prevalence and socio-economic inequalities across regions in England: A population study, 2006 to 2024 by Sarah E. Jackson, Sharon Cox, Vera Buss, Harry Tattan-Birch, Jamie Brown -https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70032
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
