Oldhamers ‘most likely’ to welcome smokers

SMOKERS in Oldham have been labelled as having the most cigarette-friendly homes in the UK.

A survey by UK house-share website SpareRoom.co.uk showed more than 28 per cent of Oldham households are prepared to permit smoking in the house.

In contrast, Cambridge is home to more smoke-free households than anywhere else, with only 5.68 per cent of homes allowing people to light up.

Across the UK, smoking indoors was found to be most widely accepted in the West Midlands, the North-West, Scotland and Wales.

The survey also showed smokers and non-smokers have become less tolerant of each other since banning laws were introduced.

Almost a million homes have stopped people lighting up indoors since the July 2007 legislation.

And the report said only one in 10 households were happy for guests or residents to light up in the house in 2008, compared with 13.6 per cent in 2007.

Matt Hutchinson, director of research at SpareRoom.co.uk, said: “In general, smoking indoors is less acceptable and it seems the ban on smoking in public places is being extended voluntarily into more and more homes. But the position of many smokers, who’ve come under increasing pressure from smoke-free legislation, has also become more entrenched.

“Less than 2 per cent of smokers would now contemplate living with non-smokers, suggesting that most smokers are looking for havens away from judgement, and calls to kick the habit have made persistent smokers more ardent.”