THE smoking capital of Britain is Chorley, Lancashire — after a big rise in folk puffing away.
Research shows 18 per cent of the town’s adults lit up last year, up from eight per cent in 2019.
That bucks the national trend with just 13 per cent of UK adults now smoking, down from 50 per cent in the 1970s.
Chorley’s Lancashire neighbour Clitheroe was second for smokers, with 17 per cent, followed by Brentwood, Essex, on 14 per cent.
Wantage in Oxfordshire and Dover were both on 13 per cent, according to analysis of government figures by vape specialists Go Smoke Free.
A spokesman said the past five years has seen a six per cent fall across the UK.
But he added: “There are still several areas reporting an uptake in people smoking, including Chorley, which saw a large rise.”
Colin Hopper, 40, of Chorley, said he gave up smoking 10 years ago – and now avoids smokers ‘like the plague’.
The delivery worker said: “I started smoking in my late teens, but gave up 10 years ago – and now I absolutely hate the smell.
“If I’m walking behind someone who is smoking I have to cross the road – I avoid them like the plague.”
Asked if he had noticed more smokers around, he said: “I’m definitely seeing more sitting outside the pubs puffing away – it used to be the odd two or three people, but I’ve noticed the groups are getting larger.”
1 – Chorley, Lancashire – 18%
2 – Clitheroe, Lancashire – 17%
3 – Brentwood, Essex – 14%
4 – Wantage, Oxfordshire – 13%
5- Dover, Kent – 13%
6- Warwick, Warwickshire – 12%
7- Gravesend, Kent – 11%
8 – Hastings, East Sussex – 11%
9 – Oxford – 11%
10 – Gloucester – 9%
