Shropshire smokers spend about £71.4 million a year on cigarettes, figures show

Smokers in Shropshire spend about £71.4 million a year on cigarettes, a new analysis of official figures shows.

The figures come from vaping retailer Ecigone, who used the smoking rate for every council area in the UK, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) earlier this month.

Each smoker was then costed at the ONS average of 10 cigarettes a day and an average price of about £19.18 for a pack of 20 since tobacco duty rose on October 1. That comes to about £3,500 a year for each smoker.

Across the UK, the bill adds up to about £17.2 billion a year, or £309 for every adult. In St Albans, the lowest of the areas with a reliable estimate, the figure is £151.

Councillor Ruth Houghton, Shropshire Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social care said: "In Shropshire, the most recent figures show that 8.4 per cent of Shropshire's over 18s are smokers, compared to 10.3 per cent in England, and that figure has reduced from 8.6 per cent three years ago.

"Reducing smoking rates remains a key public health priority for Shropshire Council and our partners. Through the Healthy Lives Stop Smoking service, we offer free, confidential support from specialist advisers for people aged 12 and over who live or work in Shropshire or are registered with a Shropshire GP.

"The service provides up to 12 weeks of support alongside four weeks of funded nicotine replacement therapy. The service also includes signposting to NHS tools and wider wellbeing support.

""Working with community partners, we have made the service available through a range of local venues across the county, as well as offering telephone support into the evening, making it easier for people to access help close to home.

"In the past 12 months, the service has supported over 690 residents on their journey to becoming non-smokers, an increase of almost 20 per cent compared to the previous year. Residents are encouraged to sign up for free support, by searching 'stop smoking' on the council website, or by visiting Shropshire Local.

"We are also starting to promote the service alongside the new local NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme. This programme began its four-year roll out in December 2025, starting in areas with the highest levels of smoking, lung cancer rates and health deprivation.

"Following successful implementation across Telford and Wrekin, the NHS programme is now coming to North Shrewsbury. This programme represents an important opportunity for the county, as all programme participants who currently smoke will be offered a referral to the Stop Smoking service."