THE North-East still has one of the highest numbers of smokers in England, with 84,500 more smokers than the English national average.

Figures published in a report by Public Health England have revealed that in the 2017/18 period, 16.2 per cent of the region's population smoke, above the 15 per cent average across England.

Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough recorded the highest population of smokers, however County Durham and Darlington fell below the national average. In the North-East, there are 342,447 smokers in total.

The figures were published in Public Health England's Local Tobacco Control Profile and collated by the Vape Club for Vaping Awareness Month − VApril.

The report also recorded data for hospital admissions linked to smoking, with Sunderland reporting the second highest figure in the country.

However, the study found quitting rates were on the rise in the area, noting a 2.9 per cent success rate which exceeds the national average of 2.13 per cent.

The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that participants using NHS ‘quit smoking’ services were given either the standard available nicotine replacement or provided with e-cigarettes.

It was found that around one in five of those vaping were able to successfully quit − compared to one in every ten of quitters using alternative nicotine replacement methods.

Research for the Tobacco Control journal has also found that the growth in the use of e-cigarettes has not led to a boom in teenagers taking up tobacco smoking, with scant evidence existing to show youngsters finding smoking "cool".

Rosanna O'Connor, director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at Public Health England, said: "Increasingly today young people are turning their backs on smoking and very few are regularly using e-cigarettes.

"This study is further evidence that vaping is not leading young people to smoke, but we will keep a careful watch on this to ensure we stay on track to achieve our ambition of a smoke-free generation.

"Meanwhile, e-cigarettes have become the most popular quit aid for adult smokers, which means fewer role models for smoking."

Dan Marchant, founder of Vape Club and a board member of the UK Vaping Industry Association, added: "Vaping gives a real alternative to traditional smoking cessation products, and as the study shows they are actually twice as effective.

"It is fantastic to see organisations such as Public Health England and the NHS embrace the public health breakthrough that is vaping, but we still have a long way to go to get this message out to the remaining 7.4m smokers in the UK."

  • For more information on Vaping Awareness Month, visit vapril.org