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A town has seen its smoking rate more than halve in one year, while Kent has also seen an overall reduction, new figures have shown.
The statistics show that Ashford has seen its rate fall from 21.5% to 10.1% between 2018 and 2019.
The dramatic figure equates to around 10,027 smokers in the district, which is 11,000 fewer than the previous year.
It is expected that the figure will reduce further this year as more smokers seek to quit following the coronavirus pandemic.
As well as being a major risk factor for many diseases including cancer, government guidance says that smokers may be more at risk of severe Covid-19 symptoms.
County-wide figures also show a downward trend, as Kent went form 15% in 2018 to 13.7% in 2019.
Cllr Peter Feacey, Ashford Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing, paid tribute to the town's 'One You' shop.
The Park Mall shop, which opened in 2017 and re-located to a larger outlet in 2019, has seen 1,690 smoking related interventions since its inception.
Cllr Feacey said: “It is testament to the hard work of our public health colleagues and those at our One You shop that so many people have taken the support and encouragement needed to quit smoking.
“The fact that the number of smokers in Ashford has halved in one year is a remarkable achievement and one that will save many lives, improving the overall health of our borough.”
KCC Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark said: “We are really encouraged by the figures for Ashford and are pleased at how well the One You shop in the town has offered people a chance to pop in as part of their shopping trip and get support and advice on a range of health issues including quitting smoking.
“GPs have also been instrumental in helping smokers to quit by prescribing the right NRT products or medication to support them giving up.
"Although the COVID-19 lockdown has proved a challenge, people can still access help online and by phone so we’d also encourage smokers to go to www.oneyoukent.org.uk for more information on all the support available to them.”
