Smoking death rates soar in region

Death rates from smoking are significantly higher in the Black Country than the rest of the country, new figures revealed today.

Across the West Midlands as a whole, there was a greater proportion of smoking-related deaths between 2006 and 2008 compared to the average for the whole of England.

The West Midlands also had a higher rate of smoking-related deaths from heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease than compared with the rest of the country.

Only deaths from lung cancer remained similar to the average.

In the Black Country, Sandwell was the worst area for smoking-related deaths with 280 deaths per 100,000 people compared to an England average of 206 deaths.

Wolverhampton had an average of 239 deaths per 100,000 of population and Walsall had a death rate of 248.

But South Staffordshire fared better with 189 deaths and Dudley was lower than the England average with 203 deaths per 100,000 people.

The high deaths were revealed in a study by the Association of Public Health Observatories.

A spokesman for the West Midlands Public Health Observatory said: "The figures for the overall number of deaths do seem to fit in with the evidence we already have around smoking prevalences in the region.

"We are in a very similar position so the number of deaths attributable to smoking within the West Midlands does not come as too much of a surprise."

The study also revealed the proportion of hospital admissions attributable to smoking was significantly worse in the West Midlands compared to the England figure.

Overall, the rate for smoking-attributable deaths during 2006 to 2008 was 211 per 100,000 people aged 35 and over in the West Midlands.

For smoking attributable deaths from heart disease, the West Midlands figure was almost 35 deaths per 100,000 people compared to just under 34 for England; smoking attributable deaths from stroke was 10 deaths in the Midlands compared with 9.5 deaths for England.