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Three Scottish council areas are among the top ten regions for the highest smoking rates, as the proportion of smokers in Scotland outstrips anywhere else 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 .

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