Mapped: Britain’s smoking strongholds where rates have gone UP – despite vapes overtaking cigarettes

Seven areas in England have more smokers now than 14 years ago, according to Daily Mail analysis of official figures.

Nationally, just 9.1% adults in Britain admitted to smoking last year, down from 10.5% in 2023 and just a fraction of the nearly 50 per cent in the 1970s, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

But data shows that East Staffordshire has seen the greatest growth in tobacco-users, from 10.7% of the population in 2012 to 17.3% in 2024 – a 6.6% leap.

South Holland (+3.7%) in Lincolnshire ranks second, with Exeter (+2.7%) and Babergh (+2.7%) in joint third.

At the other end of the scale, smoking numbers in the boroughs of Folkestone and Hythe and Stevenage both fell by 20.8% – the most in the country.

Close behind is Dover (-18.9%), where just 6.2% of the population smoke compared to 25.1% in 2012 and Stratford-upon-Avon (-16.4%).

Legal tobacco sales have fallen by 45% since 2021 but the number of smokers only fell less than 1%.

Repeated tax hikes on tobacco products has priced many out of the legal market, driving people who still smoke to search for cheaper alternatives.

A record 5.4million adults in the UK now vape, overtaking cigarette smokers for the first time, new figures suggest.

The government has unveiled a raft of measures aimed at cutting smoking numbers back even further, as well new plans aimed at curtailing the rise in vaping.

The latest iteration of this – the Tobacco and Vapes Bill – is currently making its way through the House of Lords.

The bill would make it illegal for anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to ever buy tobacco. It also includes powers to restrict the packaging, marketing and flavours of e-cigarettes.

It was signed by more than 1,200 health professionals including doctors, nurses and public health directors.

Daily e-cigarette use is in Great Britain highest among those aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 49, at 9.3% and 9.5% respectively.

But overall use has remained highest among 16- to 24-year-olds with 13% using vaping either daily or occasionally.

This is despite sales of vapes to under-18s being banned, with anyone caught flogging them to children threatened with fines and prosecution by Trading Standards.

Campaigners have also long called for much tougher regulations on vapes — including an immediate ban on marketing to children, which are most popular among teens.

They have blamed predatory manufacturers for the ever-growing crisis, claiming they are intentionally luring kids in with colourful packaging, compared to highlighter pens, and child-friendly flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy.

Despite NHS chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, vaping is not risk-free. E-cigarettes contain harmful toxins and their long-term effects remain a mystery.

Experts are concerned the high nicotine content can lead to high blood pressure and other heart problems.

Additionally, the government is slated to tighten restrictions on the sale of pouches across the country, in a bid to prevent rife usage among children and teenagers.

Caroline Cerny, deputy chief executive at Action on Smoking and Health, told the Daily Mail: ‘The overall trend of fewer people smoking across the country is a positive one and will lead to reduced disease and early death from tobacco.

‘However, smoking remains higher in certain groups, generally socially disadvantaged and those living with severe mental illness, and we need a big push over the next few years to support more people to quit.

‘Data from HMRC shows a substantial reduction in the illicit tobacco trade. Between 2000/01 and 2023/24, the number of illicit cigarettes consumed in the UK declined by almost 90% thanks to strong enforcement efforts and reductions in smoking. 

‘The only way to eliminate the illicit tobacco trade entirely is to help the UK’s 6million smokers quit. Increasing tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to achieve this.’

But Simon Clark, director of smokers’ rights group Forest, said the ONS data shows government attempts to achieve a ‘smoke-free Britain’ will likely backfire.

‘More recently, products such as vapes and nicotine pouches have provided reduced risk alternatives to cigarettes, encouraging millions of smokers to switch and quit voluntarily.

‘In contrast, there is no evidence that anti-smoking measures such as smoking bans, plain packaging, or the ban on menthol cigarettes have been significant factors in reducing smoking rates.’

Mr Clark added: ‘A generational ban on the sale of tobacco could stall or even reverse the long-term decline in smoking rates.

‘Far from achieving the government’s ambition of a smoke-free Britain, prohibiting the sale of tobacco to future generations of adults will fuel the black market and could encourage more people to smoke as a form of soft rebellion.

‘People are fed up of government dictating how they live their lives, and further intervention could do more harm than good.’

British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the largest cigarette and nicotine product manufacturers in the world, said the stats were encouraging but there was more left to do.

Asli Ertonguc, Head of BAT UK & Western Europe told the Daily Mail: ‘The latest ONS figures represent a significant milestone in the Government’s ambitions to be smoke-free. However, the proposed ban on the advertising and communication of less harmful products like vapes runs the risk of jeopardising this progress.

‘If we are to achieve a smoke-free UK, we must continue to educate smokers and give them the confidence to explore less harmful alternatives to smoking, rather than diminishing their visibility.’

The company, which carries a tagline of ‘Building a better tomorrow through a smokeless world’, only achieved 18% of its £12billion revenue through the first half of the year through smokeless products.