South Kesteven ranked third in list of decrease in smokers

Data has revealed that Newark and Sherwood have reduced their smoking population by more than 30 per cent.

Data collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and analysed by Go Smoke Free, an online e-cigarette retailer, reveals that between 2018 and 2021 it has decreased by 32.73 per cent which is equivalent to 6,362 people.

The district was ranked within the top 50 among areas with the biggest decrease in smokers.

In 2018 the estimated proportion of smokers was 16.50 per cent, equivalent to 20,058 smokers in a population of 121,566 across the district.

In 2021, the data shows a decrease in numbers by 11.10 per cent, equivalent to 13,696 smokers within 123,383 people.

South Kesteven has been ranked as the third highest area for the number of people who have quit smoking.

Data reveals that South Kesteven was the third highest area for the number of smokers who quit between 2018 and 2021.

In South Kesteven, there was a decrease of 58.23 per cent, around 12,923 people, who were no longer smoking.

One You Lincolnshire, a healthy lifestyle programme funded by Lincolnshire County Council, offers advice to people wishing to quit smoking.

A spokesperson for the programme said: “One You Lincolnshire offer free stop smoking support to help smokers become smoke free.

“The 12 week programme includes free Nicotine Replacement therapy, such as nicotine gum, nicotine patches and E-cigarettes as well as support from a trained stop smoking practitioner for motivation, goal-setting and confidence building.

“Helping you to quit smoking, our 12-week stop smoking programme means you’ll be four times more likely to quit, for good.”

The data revealed of the 143,787 population in South Kesteven in 2021, individuals that remained smokers numbered 9,490, equal to 6.6 per cent of the 2021 population.

In 2018, of the district’s 141,853 population, 22,413 people were smokers, equal to 15.8 per cent.

Taking the top spot was South Hams which saw a 70.52 per cent decrease in smokers and in second place was West Oxfordshire, with a 65.42 per cent decrease.

There are both health and financial benefits to quitting smoking.

For example, for someone who stops smoking for 10 years or more, the risk of lung cancer falls to around half of that of a smoker.

Also, within 15 years of someone quitting smoking, their risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked.

In terms of financial benefits, the average smoker can save around £38 a week, equal to £2,000 a year.

For more information on support from One You Lincolnshire, go to https://www.oneyoulincolnshire.org.uk/.

The service offers helpful resources, one-to-one weekly support and much more.