Smoking rates on the increase in seaside town

About six million people aged over 18 smoked cigarettes in the UK in 2023

The number of people who smoke in Blackpool has increased, despite a downward trend across the UK.

The proportion of smokers in the Lancashire resort was 21.3% in 2023 - one fifth of adults who live there - and the second highest area in the UK.

In 2022, the figure was 18.8%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

About six million people aged over 18 smoked cigarettes in the UK in 2023, the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began in 2011.

'See a specialist'

Across Lancashire, 12.2% of adults smoked in 2023, down from 13.4% in 2022 and 14.7% in 2021, according to the most recent figures from the ONS.

But while the number of people smoking is going down, the number of people vaping is on the increase, with over five million e-cigarette users in Great Britain, the ONS said.

Health experts in the Lancashire are now offering nicotine patches to people who are addicted to vaping, as well as to those trying to stop smoking cigarettes.

Telha Rashid from Smoke Free Lancashire said: "We see vaping as a temporary product that you'd use to help you give up smoking, and we'd encourage you to use it only for a certain period of time, and then stop vaping as well."

He said 80% of what they offered was behavioural support and he would encourage anyone wanting to stop smoking to see a specialist advisor.

"You reduce your chances of a heart attack or stroke by 50% just by giving up smoking in the first 24 to 48 hours," he said.

"The amount of money you can save and the improvement to health is amazing."