North East smoking rates fall to second lowest in the country

The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that adult smoking rates in the North East have fallen from 13.1% in 2022 to 11% in 2023. This compares to 11.6% in England.

Nationally, the North East has seen the largest fall in adult smoking since 2005 when 29% of adults in the region were smoking (the highest rate in the country), compared to 11% in 2023. This is a 62% reduction overall and means that smoking rates in the North East are now the second lowest in the country.

Sunderland’s smoking rate also continues to go down – smoking prevalence amongst adults in Sunderland is now 12.3% according to the latest data release – 0.9% down from the previous year.