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This page presents information about trends in indicators related to smoking.

Table of contents

Adult smoking prevalence

Persons, 18+ years

Time period South West Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2011 18.8 18.1 19.6 19.8
2012 18.7 17.9 19.4 19.3
2013 17.9 17.1 18.7 18.4
2014 16.9 16.1 17.6 17.8
2015 15.5 14.8 16.2 16.9
2016 13.9 13.2 14.6 15.5
2017 13.7 13 14.4 14.9
2018 13.9 13.2 14.5 14.4
2019 14 13.3 14.7 13.9
2020 13 12.2 13.8 13.8
2021 12.6 11.8 13.4 13
2022 11.9 11.1 12.7 12.7

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Annual Population Survey (APS)

The line chart shows the percentage of people aged 18 or over who smoke. The proportion in the South West decreased from 18.8% in 2011 to 11.9% in 2022.


Mothers who smoke

Female, all ages

Time period South West Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2010/11 13.5 13.2 13.8 13.6
2011/12 13.3 13 13.6 13.3
2012/13 13.5 13.2 13.8 12.8
2013/14 12.9 12.6 13.1 12.2
2014/15 12.3 12 12.6 11.7
2015/16 11.4 11.1 11.7 11
2016/17 11.3 11.1 11.6 10.7
2017/18 10.9 10.7 11.2 10.8
2018/19 10.9 10.6 11.2 10.6
2019/20 11 10.7 11.3 10.4
2020/21 10.3 10 10.5 9.6
2021/22 9.9 9.7 10.2 9.1
2022/23 9.2 9 9.5 8.8

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Calculated by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities from the NHS England return on Smoking Status At Time of delivery (SATOD)

The line chart shows the percentage of mothers who are smokers at the time of delivery. The proportion in the South West decreased from 13.5% in the financial year ending 2011 to 9.2% in the financial year ending 2023.


Hospital admissions attributable to smoking

Persons, 35+ years

Time period South West Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2015/16 1578 1565 1591 1572
2016/17 1370 1358 1382 1428
2017/18 1398 1386 1410 1428
2018/19 1413 1400 1425 1426
2019/20 1300 1288 1312 1398

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Admissions data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES); Office for National Statistics (ONS) - mid-year population estimates; Smoking prevalence data from Annual Population Survey; and relative risks from the Royal College of Physician’s Report ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’

The line chart shows the rate of hospital admissions attributable to smoking. The directly standardised rate in the South West decreased from 1,578 per 100,000 in the financial year ending 2016 to 1,300 per 100,000 in the financial year ending 2020.


Deaths attributable to smoking

Persons, 35+ years

Time period South West Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2013 - 15 224 221 227 244
2014 - 16 196 193 199 221
2015 - 17 199 197 202 219
2016 - 18 194 191 196 212
2017 - 19 174 171 176 202

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Mortality data from the ONS mortality file; ONS mid-year population estimates; Smoking prevalence data from Annual Population Survey; and relative risks from the Royal College of Physician’s Report ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’.

The line chart shows the rate of deaths attributable to smoking. The directly standardised rate in the South West decreased from 224 per 100,000 in 2013 to 2015 to 174 per 100,000 in 2017 to 2019.


Successful smoking quitters

Persons, 16+ years

Time period South West Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2013/14 3444 3336 3558 3743
2014/15 2543 2458 2633 2900
2015/16 2163 2086 2245 2598
2016/17 1988 1909 2071 2245
2017/18 1853 1779 1930 2070
2018/19 1668 1601 1738 1894
2019/20 1412 1382 1441 1808
2020/21 1376 1312 1443 1671
2021/22 911 867 956 1627
2022/23 1180 1120 1243 1620

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

View successful smoking quitters data.

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Source: Population Health Analysis Team, Department for Health and Social Care

The line chart shows the rate of smokers who have successfully quit for 4 weeks or more. The crude rate in the South West decreased from 3,444 per 100,000 smokers aged 16+ in the financial year ending 2014 to 1,180 per 100,000 smokers aged 16+ in the financial year ending 2023.