The Best UK City To Live In To Motivate You To Quit Smoking

Across the UK, the NHS sees 506,100 hospital admissions attributable to smoking, and ‘Stoptober’ is here to help reduce this number. Stoptober is a month-long campaign to help those who want to quit smoking start their journey to becoming smoke-free through community support, health resources and increased awareness on the dangers of smoking.

Health experts The Independent Pharmacy, who provide stop smoking guides, medical advice and support, have conducted a data review to see which UK cities are the most motivated to quit smoking and provide the best environment for helping smokers break away from the habit.

The study took a holistic view to uncovering the locations best suited to supporting individuals looking to quit smoking, by assessing the population’s attitude to quitting smoking and the local authorities stance on progressing as a “smoke-free” city.

The overall result was compiled through analysis of each city’s search volume for quitting smoking phrases, the year each city council has pledged to become smoke-free, the percentage of the population who have never smoked, and the percentage difference between current smokers and ex-smokers to represent the population’s actionable and positive changes to quit smoking.

Top 10 Cities: The Best UK Cities For Quitting Smoking

The Independent Pharmacy’s research revealed that Newcastle was the best UK city for those looking to quit smoking as it came out on top in the overall analysis of community drive to quit smoking, positive influences for quitting, and in local authority support. Newcastle’s motivation and positive environment to quit smoking score came out as 85.6/100, a whole 3.7 points higher than second-place city London.

The top 10 cities for quitting smoking also demonstrate a strong north/south divide, with seven of the locations being northern cities. Could this be an indication of a difference in smoking attitudes between the two halves of the country?