Parliamentary constituencies smoking prevalence revealed for the first time

The number of smokers in Britain has halved over the past 20 years with many switching to better alternatives or quitting altogether. However, around 7 million people continue to smoke. Today, for the first time, an analysis of the latest ONS data has been collated into a new interactive map launched by Philip Morris Limited (PML). The Unsmoke Constituency Heat Map reveals which of the 632 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales have the highest and lowest smoking prevalence levels.

The findings show that the Labour held constituencies of Kingston-upon-Hull North and Kingston-upon-Hull East shared the highest smoking levels (26.1%) followed by Labour held Burnley (24.8%) and Conservative held Mansfield (23.1%). Kenneth Clarke MP’s Conservative seat, Rushcliffe, had the lowest level in the whole of Britain (3.6%) followed by Lib Dem Leader, Sir Vince Cable MP’s Twickenham constituency (5.9%). Jeremy Hunt MP’s seat of South West Surrey was fourth in the rankings (7.1%).

Aston spoke to Mark MacGregor, External Affairs Director at Philip Morris Limited to discuss why this kind of data analysis is important.