Record Low Smoking Rates in Bolton Show Hard Work Paying Off
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Smoking rates in Bolton reached a record low last year, new figures show – and the hard work that has gone into supporting residents to stop smoking is paying off. According to the Office for National Statistics, 14.2 per cent of adults in Bolton smoked in 2022 – down from 18.4 per cent the year before and the lowest rate since records began for the area in 2012. This is a huge improvement from 2002 when Bolton was highlighted as having one of the highest death rates for smoking related lung cancer, heart disease and strokes.
The figures show that men in Bolton were more likely to be smokers at 15.7 per cent compared to 12.6 per cent of women in the area last year. Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Adult's Services, Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Linda Thomas, said: “These figures are a positive sign and reflect the hard work that has gone into supporting residents to stop smoking. “This ranges from offering support for individuals who want to quit and to stay smokefree, to taking enforcement action to tackle underage sales and illicit tobacco.”
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust this year launched a service to help patients give up smoking. The trust, like others in Greater Manchester, has joined "The Cure Project", a new tobacco dependency treatment service. All patients who smoke that are admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital will be offered support to go smoke free with free nicotine replacement and expert behavioural support from a team of specialist nurses. When leaving hospital, patients can then choose to either continue with the treatment with the support of their local pharmacy.
The figures follow trends across England, where the national rate of smokers reached 12.7 per cent, the lowest level on record. Across the UK, smoking among adults also fell to its lowest level of 12.9 per cent last year – a drop on the 13.3 per cent reported in 2021. The data also revealed men in the UK were more likely to smoke, with 14.6 per cent using cigarettes in 2022 compared to 11.2 per cent of women.
The ONS figures for England also showed 5.2 per cent of people aged over 16 used e-cigarettes daily in 2022, up from 4.9 per cent in 2021. Deborah Arnott, Action on Smoking and Health chief executive, said: “Smoking rates are falling, but not nearly fast enough to deliver on the Government’s ambition of 5 per cent or less by 2030. Financial stress and poor mental health are on the rise, which we know makes it harder for smokers to quit.”
Ms Arnott added the Government must "step up" its support for smokers by investing in campaigns to motivate smokers to quit and discourage young people to start. She said there is a worrying growth in vaping among teens and young adults with 15.5 per cent of young people aged 16 to 24 years vaping daily or occasionally last year. The Department of Health and Social Care said it is looking to "balance the public health opportunities vaping offers to smokers, while protecting young people and non-smokers from using them".
The hard work that has gone into helping residents in Bolton quit smoking is paying off, with figures showing a record low in smoking rates. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has launched a service to help patients give up smoking, and the Department of Health and Social Care is looking to balance the public health opportunities vaping offers to smokers, while protecting young people and non-smokers from using them. While smoking rates in Bolton are improving, there is still more to be done to reduce smoking rates in the area and the Government must step up its support for smokers by investing in campaigns to motivate smokers to quit and discourage young people to start.
