NEW figures show that the North-East has seen the biggest drop in smokers in the country, with fewer people smoking than ever before.

With the proportion of adults smoking in the region falling from 25 per cent in 2006 to 22 per cent in 2007 it means that the North-East is no longer the English region which has the highest smoking rates.

That dubious distinction is now shared between the North West and the West Midlands (both on 23 per cent).

It also means that around 40,000 smokers gave up in the North-East in the year England went smokefree.

Remarkably, there has been a seven per cent drop in smoking rates in the region since 2005 - when the total stood at 29 per cent - the biggest fall in any region.

It means that the North-East is now tied with Yorkshire and the Humber in terms of smoking rates.

The statistics are from the General Household Survey by the Office for National Statistics, or ONS.

The author of an ambitious blueprint to turn the North-East from the sick man of England to the healthiest in a generation - Regional Director of Public Health, Professor Stephen Singleton - said: "This is good news today and shows the progress being made in our region to tackle our greatest cause of health inequalities.

"I am delighted that our region has surpassed others in how quickly rates are declining. New figures show the North East has had the biggest drop in smokers nationwide - with fewer people smoking than ever before. It is testament to the work undertaken by our many partners and to the thousands of smokers who have successfully quit smoking.

"But there is no room for complacency and we must go further and faster if we are going to achieve our vision of a region where smoking is a thing of the past."

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh Smoke Free North East, said: "I am proud of all the hard work of our many partners in tackling our biggest killer. But while 5,500 people in the North East continue to die every year from this totally avoidable addiction, we must not let up - especially since 71 per cent of our region's smokers say they want to quit.