North West smoking rate drop means nearly 20,000 fewer smokers

North West smoking rate drop means nearly 20,000 fewer smokers

Smoking rates in North West England fell significantly over the past 12 months, a new Government survey has found. The annual Integrated Household Survey revealed that adult smoking fell from 21.6% in 2012 to 20.1% in 2013. Nationally the figure fell from 19.5% in 2012 to 18.4%.

Andrea Crossfield, Chief Executive of Tobacco Free Futures – the North West regional office for tobacco control said: “It’s really positive to see fewer North West residents smoking. This 1.5 percentage point reduction in adult smokers means almost 20,000 fewer people smoking in the region. As one in two long-term smokers die early from their addiction, this means that in the future, potentially thousands of lives will be saved, and an estimated £30million a year saved in costs to society.

“The figures suggest fewer young people are taking up smoking which is great news. This is due to the hard work, collaboration and investment by local authorities working together with countless partners and choosing to prioritise tackling tobacco. However there is still a long way to go with over 1.2million people in the region still smoking. We need to seize this opportunity and keep investing in a wide range of measures to tackle the harms caused by tobacco.

“Hard work locally needs national support and these figures show legislation including removal of vending machines and point of sale displays is also working. The tobacco industry is fighting tooth and nail to delay further pioneering legislation including smokefree cars carrying minors and standardised tobacco packaging. These changes must be implemented without delay so we can help improve peoples’ health, reduce costs and most importantly save lives.”