Dundee has witnessed the biggest annual decline rate in smoking prevalence in Scotland, according to new research by online vape shop Vapeverse.
The research analysed smoking prevalence data across all UK local authorities from 2012 to 2023, identifying areas with the steepest decline in smoking rates and projecting when each might become smoke-free.
Dundee ranked sixth overall in a list of top 10 UK local authorities with the most significant annual smoking decline with an annual decline rate of -1.36%, closely followed by North Ayrshire in seventh place on -1.33%, while Hyndburn in the North West of England took the top spot with an annual decline rate of -1.56%.
In Dundee, smoking rates have fallen from 21.8% in 2018 to 16.4% in 2023, a 5.4 percentage point decrease. The city is expected to be smoke-free by 2034, although this is considerably later than the top five areas in the UK, which were projected to become smokefree between 2028 and 2030.
Meanwhile, North Ayrshire fell from 18.9% in 2018 to just 8% in 2023. That’s a drop of nearly 11 percentage points, averaging 1.33% a year. At this pace, Vapeverse claimed the area could be smoke-free by 2032.
While the fastest rates of decline are important, some areas with lower current smoking rates are set to become smoke-free sooner, noted Vapeverse.
Woking in Surrey, England, is projected to be the UK’s first smoke-free local authority by 2026, with current smoking rates at just 1.3%. This is followed by Lichfield in the West Midlands and Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, both projected to be smoke-free by 2027.
Top 10 UK local authorities with the most significant annual smoking decline:
|
Rank |
Local Authority |
Region |
Annual decline rate |
Projected smoke-free year |
Smoking rate in 2023 |
Smoking rate in 2018 |
Five–year change in percentage points (pp) |
|
1 |
Hyndburn |
North West |
-1.56% |
2029 |
9.0% |
14.7% |
-5.7 pp |
|
2 |
Mid Ulster |
Northern Ireland |
-1.52% |
2029 |
12.7% |
14.9% |
-2.2 pp |
|
3 |
Antrim and Newtownabbey |
Northern Ireland |
-1.51% |
2028 |
10.5% |
14.0% |
-3.5 pp |
|
4 |
Folkestone and Hythe |
South East |
-1.41% |
2030 |
6.2% |
22.8% |
-16.6 pp |
|
5 |
Hammersmith and Fulham |
London |
-1.37% |
2029 |
11.7% |
12.1% |
-0.4 pp |
|
6 |
Dundee City |
Scotland |
-1.36% |
2034 |
16.4% |
21.8% |
-5.4 pp |
|
7 |
North Ayrshire |
Scotland |
-1.33% |
2032 |
8% |
18.9% |
-10.9 pp |
|
8 |
Medway |
South East |
-1.32% |
2031 |
12.7% |
14.7% |
-2 pp |
|
9 |
Hinckley and Bosworth |
East Midlands |
-1.28% |
2028 |
8.9% |
15.0% |
-6.1 pp |
|
10 |
Ashfield |
East Midlands |
-1.25% |
2031 |
6.9% |
16.6% |
-9.7 pp |
Source: Vapeverse
