The geography of smoking in Leeds: estimating individual smoking rates and the implications for the location of stop smoking services

Abstract

Smoking is an important and topical health issue in the UK. In Leeds, the target is to reduce smoking prevalence by 9 per cent by 2010. However, a key unknown is the likely distribution of smokers across the city. This paper aims to estimate individual smoking rates using microsimulation and hence evaluate the performance of established stop smoking services, e.g. how well do they serve local areas and to what extent does attendance vary between service point locations? Location‐allocation modelling is employed to test various location scenarios and provide insight into where to optimally place centres.