FIVE children in Bradford start smoking every day, according to shocking new statistics.

The data shows that over the course of a year the district gained 1,680 new smokers under the age of 18.

It also reveals that more than a fifth of Bradford’s adult population are smokers, with almost 83,000 smokers.

The numbers in Kirklees are a similar story to Bradford, with four children in the district taking up smoking every day, and almost 77,000 adult smokers, 24 per cent of the entire adult population.

These figures come as Bradford Council today marks World No Tobacco Day by celebrating the decision to make the United Kingdom only the second country in the world to enforce standardised tobacco packaging.

Councillor Cath Bacon, deputy chairman of the council's health scrutiny committee, said: “Young people starting smoking is something that we have been very concerned with in the last year, and as an ex-smoker myself I know we need to reduce smoking in young people, and we need to recognise that peer pressure is still a very strong factor in children taking up smoking, which needs to be addressed.

“We are more informed about the dangers of tobacco these days and we need to stop people from taking up smoking."

“After smoking for a very long time I used e-cigarettes to help me quit, and I believe they are one of the best ways to help people quit smoking.

“I wouldn’t encourage non-smokers to start using e-cigs, or vaping, but to help people quit they are a very efficient tool and a lot safer than other options.

Joanne Nykol, the council's tobacco lead, urged smokers to take notice of the new bolder health warnings and start a quit attempt on World No Tobacco Day.

She said as smoking remained the biggest cause of preventable deaths in the district, and two thirds of Bradford’s smokers pick up the habit as children, it was hoped that the new standardised packets and more effective health warnings will discourage more young people from taking up the habit.

"Although the district has seen the levels of smoking decrease over the last few years, the smoking rate is still higher than the national average," she said.

MORE TOP STORIES

“This means that there are hundreds of preventable deaths caused by smoking every year.

“Over the last few years we have worked hard to reduce smoking in the area by targeting illicit trade in our area, helping families create smokefree homes, working in schools and supporting those looking to quit.

“Our aim is to help create a smoke free district where the next generation understand that smoking is not a normal activity and that cigarettes kill one in every two long-term smokers.”

Data from Public Health England, released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, has shown that while the number of people smoking is decreasing, the number of smoking-related admissions to the districts’ hospitals has risen over the last five years.

In 2014-15 a total of 2,186 people aged 35 or more were admitted to Bradford hospital for smoking-related illness compared to 2,011 people in the previous 12 months.

It was also revealed that 35 prescription items per 1,000 people West Yorkshire were dispersed in the community in the year 2014-15.

There were 82,020 smoking related items prescribed in West Yorkshire that year, the second highest number outside London, after Greater Manchester, with more than half of prescriptions being for nicotine replacement therapies.

Hospital deaths from smoking-related illnesses have reduced over the past five years, however. From 2012/14, 330 people aged 35 and over died from smoking-related illness in Bradford, down from 356 in 2007/09.

Bradford Council is encouraging people who want to quit smoking to contact the Bradford district stop smoking service on 01274 437700.