The three Scottish areas in the top 10 worst for smoking in the UK

Figures compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in 2023, an estimated 13.5 per cent of people in Scotland aged 18 or over smoked, above the UK average of 11.9 per cent.

A breakdown of the data also reveals that in some regions, the smoking rates are considerably higher than either the UK or Scottish averages.

The Scottish list was topped by North Lanarkshire, where an estimated 20.8 per cent of the adult population smoke, followed by West Lothian (19.5 per cent) and Glasgow (19.1 per cent), the ONS research shows.

There were 14 other council areas where the proportion of smokers exceeded the Scotland-wide average: West Dunbartonshire (17.5 percent); Dundee (17.2 per cent); Renfrewshire (16.1 per cent); Falkirk (15.8 per cent); East Ayrshire and Fife (both 15.7 per cent); Inverclyde (15.4 per cent); Angus (15 per cent); Dumfries & Galloway (14.9 per cent); South Lanarkshire (14.8 per cent); North Ayrshire (14.7 per cent); South Ayrshire (14.1 per cent); and Aberdeen City and Orkney (both 13.8 per cent).

At 6.6 per cent, East Dunbartonshire was the council area with the lowest proportion of smokers, followed by East Renfrewshire (9.3 per cent), Stirling (10.1 per cent) and Edinburgh (10.8 per cent).

While Scotland still has the highest proportion of adult smokers of any UK nation, the latest figure is part of a downward trend. Last year, the proportion of adults who smoked in Scotland stood at 13.9 per cent, and only a decade ago, the figure was 20 per cent.

Separate ONS figures also indicate that the proportion of women aged 16 to 24 across Britain who are daily e-cigarette users is at its highest level since current records began, with 8.7 per cent of females in this age group likely to have used vapes every day last year, up from 6.7 per cent in 2022 and 1.9 per cent in 2021.

Some 5.3 per cent of men aged 16 to 24 in the UK vaped daily in 2023, up from 3.6 per cent in 2022 but below levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, around 9.8 per cent of people aged 16 or over - or 5.1 million - are likely to have vaped every day or occasionally in 2023.

Professor Nick Hopkinson, respiratory physician and chairman of public health charity Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Vaping has helped millions of adults quit smoking and is much less harmful than smoking. However, it is not risk-free and high levels of use among young people and growing use among never smokers is a concern.”

Prof Hopkinson urged the UK government to press ahead with the introduction of legislation which could progressively increase the age at which people can buy tobacco. The proposed law would be introduced in Scotland as well as the rest of the UK as part of a four-nation approach.