Smoking linked to poverty

According to the campaigning group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), smoking is inextricably linked to poverty. An article in the Guardian revealed that 48% of men in the poorest social class died before they reached 70, compared with 22% of men in the richest social class – half of that difference is estimated to be accounted for by smoking.

ASH have launched interactive maps online revealing the close link between cigarette consumption and deprivation – they show how even relatively small areas of deprivation match up with areas of heavy smoking.

In the Princess ward in Merseyside, which is said to be the most deprived area of England, a huge 52% of the population smoke. In the least deprived ward (Keyworth North in the East Midlands) only 12% of the population smoke. The national average is 26% so the huge variations are evident.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Addictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.