SMOKING rates for pregnant women in a borough remain above the national average.

Although progress has been made in lowering the number of smokers in Blackburn with Darwen, more than 14 per cent of pregnant women in the borough still smoke.

And plans are afoot to make some parks and other public places smoke-free in a bid to tackle the problem.

Some 19.5 per cent of adults and 32 per cent of manual workers in the borough also still smoke.

The local authority is launching its Tobacco Free Lancashire strategy in collaboration with Blackpool and Lancashire Councils.

The strategy aims to protect children from the effects of smoking.

Last year in Blackburn with Darwen, 309 of 2,147 pregnant women were still smoking when they gave birth.

And in Lancashire, 1,779 of 12,252 expectant mothers had not stopped lighting up as their due date approached.

Figures show in Lancashire it costs the NHS £53.77 million per year to treat smoking-related illnesses (£29.51 million on primary care and £24.26 million on secondary care).

A further £20.42 million is spent on treating the consequences of exposure to second-hand smoke in children and adults, such as respiratory tract infections, asthma and glue ear.

The annual costs to the wider economy from sickness absenteeism, smoking breaks and reduced productivity are estimated at £19.61 million across Lancashire.

And every year 190,006 working days are lost through smoking related absence across the county.

NHS statistics show smoking kills approximately 79,000 people each year in England and 2,905 adults aged 35 years and over in Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

The new strategy will build on preliminary work conducted throughout Lancashire with the aim of increasing the number of smoke free outdoor spaces and de-normalising smoking.

The strategy states: “We are committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking from 16.9 per cent (in 2016) to the England national ambition of 12 per cent or less by 2022 and will continue to challenge the social norms that we currently see that smoking is acceptable or normal behaviour.

“We need to promote the message that non-smoking is the norm in our society, as we know that young people are significantly less likely to take up smoking themselves if they experience restrictions on smoking in public places, schools and at home.”