The areas with the highest percentage of smokers across the UK have been named.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) collected local data on adults over 18 years old who were current smokers from 2019 to 2023, and found which district had the most.
In a report on its website, the ONS found Fenland, in Cambridgeshire, was placed first with 22.1% of the adult population smoking regularly.
That was followed by Blackpool, at 21.3%, North Lanarkshire, at 20.8%, and Hull and South Holland in Lincolnshire, which both had 20.3%.
Woking in Surrey was at the bottom of the list with just 5.3% of people smoking regularly.
In terms of capitals across the UK, Cardiff recorded 13.4%, Edinburgh saw the lowest average with 10.8%, and Belfast had 18.4%.
It comes as the Labour government weighs up introducing an outdoor smoking ban in a bid to help reduce the 80,000 smoking-related deaths in the UK every year.
Commons leader Lucy Powell told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips in September that the government is “not attacking the hospitality industry” with the proposed plans.
Read more:
How would an outdoor smoking ban work?
However, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said at the time that the measures “risk dividing opinion and imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges”.
Here is the full map of districts across the UK… tap or click to see your district
The ONS also noted that because of boundary changes, figures for North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire are based on a two-year average (2022 and 2023), while figures for the City of London and Buckinghamshire are based on a three-year average (2021 to 2023).
