HC Deb 12 June 2002 vol 386 cc1339-41W
Mr. Arbuthnot

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people in the UK who smoke, broken down by region. [59793]

Ms Blears

[holding answer 10 June 2000]: The information is given in the table.

Estimated percentage and number of current cigarette smokers, among adults aged 16 and over, by region United Kingdom, 2000
Region Percentage Number1
United Kingdom 27 12,900,000
England 27 10,700,000
NHS regional office areas in England2
Northern and Yorkshire 28 1,400,000
Trent 26 1,100,000
West Midlands 26 1,100,000
North West 29 1,500,000
Eastern 25 1,100,000

Estimated percentage and number of current cigarette smokers among adults aged 16 and over, by region United Kingdom, 2000
Region Percentage Number1
London 27 1,600,000
South East 25 1,800,000
South West 27 1,100,000
Wales 25 600,000
Scotland 30 1,200,000
Northern Ireland 29 400,000
1 Estimated number of smokers rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand.
2 NHS regional office areas are as at 31 March 2002.

Note:

The number of smokers has been calculated using the 1991 census based population estimates for mid-year 2000, aged 16 and over (provided by the Office for National Statistics to the Department. of Health).

Sources:

Prevalence of smoking:

(a) Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as 'Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey'.

(b) Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency: Continuous Household Survey 2000.

Mr. Arbuthnot

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the relationship between the incidence of smoking in particular regions of the UK and the amount of NHS health funding allocated to that region. [59794]

Ms Blears

[holding answer 10 June 2002]: The prevalence of current cigarette smoking by region and the health authority total allocation by region are shown in the tables.

The national health service resource allocations take account of a number of factors including population size, age related need and relative need. Smoking prevalence is strongly related to socio-economic group, with prevalence higher in manual groups than non-manual groups. The resource allocation per capita tends to be higher in regions with above average prevalence and conversely, lower in regions with below average prevalence.

Table 1: Prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults aged 16 and over, by regional office area, England, 2000
Regional office area1 Percentage of cigarette smokers
England 27
Northern and Yorkshire 28
Trent 26
West Midlands 26
North West 29
Eastern 25
London 27
South East 25
South West 27
1 NHS Regional Office Areas as at 31 March 2002.

Source:

Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as 'Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey'.

Table 2: Health authority total allocation by regional office area for 2002–03
NHS regional office area1 Total allocation(£000)
England 41,468,469
Northern and Yorkshire 5,420,886
Trent 4,197,552
West Midlands 4,324,033
North West 5,829,741
Eastern 4,096,433
London 6,974,051
South East 6,694,368
South West 3,931,405
1 NHS Regional Office areas are as at 31 March 2002.

Source:

Department of Health RD Resource Allocation