GREENWICH and Lewisham are two of the unhealthiest places to live in London, according to a report.

New Health Profiles, commissioned by the Department of Health, show people in these areas die earlier, smoke more and live in poorer conditions.

The statistics also show deaths from heart disease, smoking, and cancer are well above the national average.

The profiles have been published for every local authority in the country.

The figures are brought together from a range of surveys from the past five years, to give an overall diagnosis on the health of each borough.

Greenwich and Lewisham rank alongside inner-London boroughs such as Tower Hamlets under many of the criteria.

Lewisham's profile shows more than 20,000 people in the borough claim they are in "poor health".

It also shows there were 1,115 deaths from smoking and 769 deaths from cancer between 2002/4 both above the national average.

Chris Watts, director of health at Lewisham Primary Care Trust (PCT), says he is not surprised by the results.

He said: "Lewisham is a deprived borough so the underlying problems of a deprived borough are bound to be there.

"We are aware of the issues raised by the report but this will help us to renew our focus on improving people's health."

Mr Watts says the PCT is working with the drinks industry to promote sensible drinking among youngsters.

The trust is also running a Healthy Schools programme to raise awareness of sexual health and other key issues.

The picture is not much rosier in neighbouring borough Greenwich, where 19,409 people are said to be in poor health.

Male life expectancy in Greenwich is just 74.6 years, compared to the national figure of 77 years.

Greenwich PCT says it will spend £1.5m over the next three years to address health inequalities.

A spokesman said the degree of deprivation and diversity in the borough presents more serious "health challenges".

He added: "Some important work which is well under way in the borough will address poor health and tackle inequalities."

There is some good news for the boroughs binge drinking and obesity levels are both better than the national average.

The profiles were compiled by The Association of Public Health Observatories.

For more information, visit the website communityhealthprofiles.info

What the profiles show

THE new Health Profiles reveal Lewisham and Greenwich got poor results for:

  • Both male and female life expectancy;
  • Teenage pregnancy;
  • Deaths caused by heart disease;
  • Poor quality housing;
  • Deaths and injuries on the road;
  • Levels of violent crime.