City's smoking rate falls to 'lowest-ever level'

The north east of England has seen smoking rates fall by 65% over the last 20 years

A city's effort to stamp out smoking has made "significant progress" after recording its lowest-ever smoking rate, a council has said.

Sunderland's smoking rate fell from 11.6% in 2023 to 9.4% in 2024 but a report made for the city council showed there was still some work to be done to reach the 2030 target of 5%.

The Smokefree Sunderland report said while rates "continued to decline" tobacco was still having a "significant impact on the lives of many people".

It said smoking remained more prevalent in poorer areas and among those facing "mental health issues, homelessness or problems with alcohol".

The council report also noted smoking rates in young people in Sunderland are low and continue to decline.

Figures from a 2023 Sunderland Health Related Behaviour Survey estimated 4% of secondary-aged pupils occasionally or regularly smoked.

However, the report said there was evidence smoking amongst young adults was on the rise in England, while children of parents who smoke were three times more likely to start themselves.

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But the north-east of England has also seen the "largest fall" in smoking rates in England since 2005, with a drop of 65%, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

During this time, the North East has delivered a regional tobacco control programme called Fresh, which has been funded by the NHS and the 12 local councils.

The programme focuses on a range of areas, including offering advice, pushing for policy changes, helping people to quit, and tackling illegal tobacco.

The council was also recently allocated nearly £700,000 from the government, which will be handed out over two tranches, to increase local stop smoking services.