Corby's smoking rate drops dramatically

The number of smokers in Corby is at a record low just two years after the town had the highest rate in the country.
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That was far higher than Dover, then the place with the second-highest smoking prevalence rate at 29.7 per cent.

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But latest Public Health England statistics for 2017 data show the rate is now down to just 16 per cent - ranked at 118 out of more than 300 UK districts.

A Corby CCG spokesman said: “We are delighted statistics are showing such a significant reduction over the past year and we hope this trend will continue.

“The numbers of people choosing to stop smoking are a result of a myriad of measures.

“GPs have been working hard to promote and carry out NHS health checks, midwives have been actively targeting smoking in pregnancy which we know can lead to premature birth and poor foetal development and services to help people stop smoking were readily available last year.”

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Corby’s current smoking rate is the lowest for the town since Public Health England’s tobacco control statistics began.

Its rate has dropped so dramatically it is not even the highest current rate in Northamptonshire.

The county town of Northampton has the dubious honour of Northamptonshire’s highest rate at 21.5 per cent, the joint ninth-highest in the country.

Elsewhere Kettering’s rate of 18.5 per cent comes in at 43rd nationally, East Northamptonshire’s rate of 14.4 per cent is 167th and Wellingborough’s rate of just 10.1 per cent is a lowly 279th.

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The highest rate is in the Worcestershire town of Redditch, where 24.8 per cent of people smoke. The lowest recorded rate is in the south coast town of Christchurch, with just 4.6 per cent of people there smoking.

The CCG smokesman added: “We welcome the work of local pharmacists who continue to undertaking large amounts of smoking cessation work, and we urge more people in the town to make use of these services.

“We also encourage people to call the free Smokefree National Helpline on 0300 123 1044 for support.”