News · 20 May 2026
Smoking deaths nearly five times higher for poorest Scots
Unsplash / Andres Siimon
The risk of mortality due to smoking is substantially elevated for individuals in Scotland's most deprived communities. The smoking death rate stands at 4.7 times higher in the most deprived areas, as reported by new Public Health Scotland figures. The gap has enlarged since 2008, showing an estimated 2,336 deaths and a death rate of 412 per 100,000 in deprived areas in 2024.
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