Each year in Bath and North East Somerset, 3,566 smoking households are living in poverty when spending on tobacco is taken into account.

New analysis of national data commissioned by charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) finds that the proportion of smokers

living in poverty is 30.3% in the South West. The findings also showed the average smoker is spending just under £2,000 a year on tobacco. Becky Reynolds, Director of Public Health and Prevention, said: “Although rates of smoking have fallen, 13% of adults or 20,484 people were smoking in B&NES in 2019. Smoking is estimated to kill 160 people in B&NES every year, and accounts for 781 years of life lost annually.”