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• Smoking and poverty blamed as cancer kills 20 per cent more in the North  

People living in the North of England have a 20 per cent higher chance of dying from cancer than those living elsewhere, according to new evidence underlining stark divides in the nation's health.

Deaths due to various forms of cancer are significantly higher in the North, a major report concludes today, with higher rates of smoking, unhealthy lifestyles and poverty likely to be at the root of the problem.

There were, on average, 380 cases of cancer -- and 182.3 deaths -- for every 100,000 people in England, the latest figures show.

But the mortality rate was much higher in the North, rising to 215.9 deaths per 100,000 in Merseyside and parts of Cheshire, while a large swath of the country, from Manchester to the Scottish border, also reported above-average death rates. . . .

Experts believe this North-South divide is due to a number of factors, especially higher smoking rates in the North, which are linked to increased risks of smoking-related cancers.

For example, 68 per 100,000 men in the North of England died from lung cancer in 2005, compared with the England average of 51. The Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire area had the lowest rate of deaths from lung cancer, with about 36 men in every 100,000 dying from the disease.

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