New study reveals East Sussex has had the most people quit smoking in recent years

Online vape retailer Go Smoke Free analysed public data from the Office for National Statistics to determine the percentage difference in current smokers between 2021 and 2022 for each county. These results were then ranked by the highest percentage decrease to the highest percentage increase of current smokers.

East Sussex ranked first with a 24.8% decrease for the percentage of current smokers between 2021 and 2022. Whilst the percentage of current smokers in 2021 was 15.3%, this fell to 11.5% in 2022. The county also recorded that 30.5% of participants in 2022 considered themselves to be ex-smokers, compared to 29.9% in 2021, and that 58% of participants in 2022 had never smoked before.

Worcestershire came second with a 17.9% decrease for the percentage of current smokers between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, 11.5% of the population identified themselves as smokers, compared with 14% in 2021. 29.5% of participants in 2022 considered themselves to be ex-smokers, compared to 26.4% in 2021.

Norfolk came third with a 16.5% decrease for the percentage of current smokers between 2021 and 2022. The percentage of current smokers in 2022 was 13.2%, compared with 15.8% in 2021. However, the county recorded that 29.5% of participants in 2022 considered themselves to be ex-smokers, compared to 30.6% in 2021.