Mansfield not kicking the habit as almost a quarter still smoke

The new report into smoking prevalence found that 23 per cent of Mansfield residents smoke, compared to a national average of 15 per cent.

England will not see the end of smoking until after 2050 according to the research conducted by Frontier Economics, commissioned by Philip Morris Limited (PML).

Mansfield ranked 629 out of 632 for smoking prevalence of all the constituencies in the UK.

The report predicts that the East Midlands will not be smoke free for at least another 15 years.

The report predicts that the Government will miss its “smoke-free” goal of 2030 by around a decade, unless further action is taken.

To meet its target, over four million smokers would need to quit or switch to a less harmful alternative - an extra 2.3 million over and above existing forecasts for the next 11 years.

Mark MacGregor, director of external affairs at PML,believes a rapid increase in the awareness and use of smoke-free alternatives will be vital to help achieve a smoke-free society faster.

He said: “Over four million smokers need to be persuaded to quit altogether or switch to a less harmful alternative if the Government is to realise its smoke-free ambition.

"Critical to achieving that goal will be ensuring that smokers in Mansfield have the facts about alternatives, like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.

"Currently, too many smokers believe that the alternatives are as harmful as smoking or are simply unaware that they exist.”

The research also highlights a variety of measures and policy interventions that could accelerate the

decline in cigarette smokers to five percent by 2030.

These include a rapid increase in the number of smokers switching to smoke-free alternatives and reversing the decline in smokers quitting through NHS Stop Smoking Services.

The report found that, since 2012, smoking in England has declined at almost twice the rate seen between 1993 and 2011, and the downward trend in smoking prevalence is likely due in part to greater use of e-cigarettes.

However, despite there being 3.2 million e-cigarette users in Great Britain, the growth of vaping is now slowing.

Data from ASH indicates that there were only 300,000 new vapers in 2018 in Great Britain, compared with 800,000 in 2014.

You can see how your postcode compares to the rest of the UK here: https://www.smokefreefuture.co.uk/UNSMOKE-England/.