NUMBERS of smokers in the Solent region have reached the lowest level in the last five years, according to new figures released this week.

Figures show that just 13.6 per cent of the population of Hampshire now smoke compared with 16.1 in 2012.

In Southampton the figure fell from 21.3 to 17.8 per cent over the same period

Figures also revealed that more than half of all adults in Southampton (58.7 per cent) have never smoked and public support for smoking bans in the region stands at 83 per cent.

Smoking in public places in England was made illegal in 2007 after the government passed a new law which made it illegal for anyone to smoke in an enclosed public place and within the workplace.

Now, the smoking ban in England has helped cut smoking rates as more people have been encouraged to kick the habit in the last five to ten years.

Dr Jason Horsley, director of public health for Southampton and Portsmouth City Councils, said: “The smoking ban has undeniably contributed to reducing smoking prevalence in the UK and saved many thousands of lives over the past ten years.

“The figures for Southampton and Portsmouth reflect the overall downward trend in smoking prevalence across the country but smoking is still the cause of one in six deaths in England.”

“We are working hard to restrict the sale of illegal tobacco products in the region, to raise awareness of the dangers of second hand smoke in the car and at home, to encourage pregnant women to stop smoking and continuing to support vital local stop smoking services.”

Action on Smoking and Health’s director of policy, Hazel Cheeseman welcomed the figures describing the ban as the “most important piece of public health legislation in modern times”.

She added: “The number of people smoking continues to fall throughout the UK thanks to a decade of evidence-based policy, such as banning cigarette vending machines, putting tobacco out of sight in shops and most recently the introduction of standardised packaging.

“To continue this progress, we need the government to publish a new tobacco control plan as soon as possible so that nobody is left behind.”

Smoking-related illness remains the number one killer in England and costs the NHS more than £2 billion a year.