Smoking in Milton Keynes has fallen by 43% in a decade, new research shows

Milton Keynes has made the top 10 of a new ranking of the English cities making the most progress in cutting smoking.

The city's adult smoking rate fell from 16.8% in 2014 to 2016 to 9.6% in recent years, a drop of 43%. It means fewer than one in ten adults in Milton Keynes have smoked in recent years.

My Health Protected looked at 44 English cities, scoring each one on how much its smoking rate has fallen (70%) and on its rate in recent years (30%).

Milton Keynes scored 68.37 out of 100, placing it 10th. A low smoking rate helped it into the top 10: its 9.6% is below the England average of 10.3% and the 13th lowest in the study.

Gloucester topped the ranking, after its rate fell by 56%.

The English cities making the most progress in cutting smoking are:

1. Gloucester (91.29)

2. York (88.35)

3. Colchester (86.91)

4. St Albans (85.95)

5. Southend-on-Sea (83.25)

6. Lancaster (79.33)

7. Newcastle upon Tyne (78.60)

8. Sunderland (71.53)

9. Portsmouth (70.97)

10. Milton Keynes (68.37)

Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Smoking Profile