Southwark’s labourers, cleaners and hospitality staff appear to be quitting smoking for e-cigarettes and vaping, according to statistics.

The percentage of smokers in routine and manual occupations has dropped from more than 25 per cent in 2015, to 18.5 per cent in 2016 – below the London rate of 25 per cent, and the country-wide rate of 27 per cent, according to Southwark Council documents.

Smoking prevalence across the borough is also reducing, with 15.3 per cent of residents smoking in 2016, compared to 15.9 per cent in 2015.

But Southwark Council’s director of health and wellbeing Kevin Fenton said the sharp decline in smokers in routine and manual jobs could not be confirmed as a trend until the next year’s data becomes available.

Speaking to the council’s health and wellbeing board, he said: “One of the things you learn is that we never look up one year’s data and then celebrate, so we are waiting and we are looking forward to the data from 2017 to confirm the trend.

“Nationally we know that we have seen a significant reduction in smoker prevalence overall, over the last three years, but also in routine and manual labour it has declined as well.”

He said e-cigarettes, a device that allows you to inhale nicotine without most of the harmful effects of smoking, had a “significant impact in reducing prevalence of smoking overall” and wanted to understand if it was being taken up by other groups.

He said there was still more to be done to impact on smoking rates “within hospitals where we have too many smokers going in and not being referred to social services” and that more could be done in community outreach.

According to council documents, smoking is the biggest preventable cause of ill health, health inequalities and premature mortality in the borough.

Mr Fenton said vaping was 95 per cent safer than smoking.