Ratio of smokers in England is now at 1 out of 6 adults only. Official figures from the Public Health England (PHE) shows that English smokers has fallen to its lowest level compared to the past few years. 

According to a report from The Guardian only 16.9% of adults in England are smoking. This is a dramatic drop from the 1974 record of 50% male smokers and 40% female smokers to the 2015 record of 19.1% male smokers and 14.9% female smokers. 

The drop  in figures is suggested by the increase in use of alternatives to cigarettes such as e-cigarettes, nicotine patches, and gums. This is estimated to have helped over 500,000 smokers to quit smoking last year. 

The record of 14.6 million ex-smokers now outnumber the 7.2 million adults who smoke in England. According to health campaigners, this is caused by massive camapaigns against smoking and the increase of prices of cigaretees. 

Through an interview with The Guardian PHE's national director of health and wellbeing,Prof. Kevin Fenton that the decline is "amazing" but noted that smoking accounts for 78,000 annual deaths in England which could have been prevented. 

On October 1 this year, PHE will re-launch the annual "Stopober" or England's "mass quitting challenge". The campaigns aims to encourage the remaining 7 million smokers in England's population. On its fifth year, Stopober has already driven almost a million quit attempts. The capamiagn is based in research that if a smoker quits for a full 28 days, he or she is five times more likely to stop for good.