Relationship between living near tobacconists, off-licences and betting shops and health
About 3 mins
Key points
- On average, neighbourhoods where people live further away from tobacconists, off-licences and betting shops tend to have higher life expectancy.
- In areas where people live closer to tobacconists or betting shops, it would take less than 5 minutes on average to drive to them. This compares to approximately 30 minutes on average for areas where these unhealthy retail outlets are further away.
The relationship between people living in an area’s health and distance from unhealthy retail outlets is complex. On one hand, living near tobacconists, off-licences and betting shops increases people’s exposure to products that can damage health and can be addictive, although that does not necessarily translate into higher consumption. Addiction can have a major negative impact on a person’s mental and physical health.
At the same time, living closer to unhealthy retail outlets is more common in more deprived areas and deprivation itself is strongly associated with poor health.
These charts show life expectancy for men and women living in neighbourhoods ranked by their distance from three types of retail outlets where unhealthy products can be purchased: tobacconists, off-licences and betting shops.
- Neighbourhoods where people live further away from tobacconists, off-licences and betting shops tend to have higher life expectancy.
- Life expectancy in neighbourhoods where tobacconists are further away is 81.4 for men and 84.9 for women, compared with 78 for men and 82.6 for women where they are closer.
- Life expectancy in neighbourhoods with the longest distance to off-licences is 80.6 for men and 84.2 for women, compared with 79.2 for men and 83.6 for women where they are closer.
- Life expectancy in neighbourhoods with the longest distance to betting shops is 81.6 for men and 85 for women, compared with 78.2 for men and 82.9 for women where they are closer.
- The average time it would take to drive to a tobacconist in areas where they are nearest (the first decile) is 2 minutes. This compares with 33 minutes for areas that are furthest away (decile 10).
- In areas that are nearest (the first decile), it would take 1 minute to drive to a betting shop. This compares with 28 minutes for areas in decile 10.
- The average distance to an off-licence for areas in the first decile is 600m. This compares with 16km for areas in decile 10.
The distance from unhealthy retail outlets in a neighbourhood is just one of many neighbourhood-specific characteristics that affect health. Availability and affordability of healthy food, access to green space and air pollution are some of the others. As with distance from unhealthy retail outlets, the relationship between these factors and health is affected by wider higher-level neighbourhood factors such as income levels, housing and education, some of which can be captured by the composite measure of deprivation.
- Access to tobacco, off-licence and betting shops is defined by the average distance from the centre of a neighbourhood to a given type of outlet. Distances to tobacconists and betting shops data are from 2022 and are measured in time taken to drive to them (in minutes). For off-licences the most recent data available are from 2017 and the distance is measured in kilometres.
- Neighbourhoods are defined as Middle layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs), based on 2011 Census areas. MSOAs are geographical areas that comprise 2,000–6,000 households (5,000–15,000 people).
- The analysis is restricted to MSOAs in England only, due to the availability of life expectancy data at this geographical level.
- Life expectancy is defined as the number of years a person of a specific age in a specific area in a specific time period can be expected to live, if mortality rates for that area and time period remain constant. Life expectancy for MSOAs is calculated for a period of five consecutive years, due to the small population numbers in those areas and in order to reduce the effect that seasonal events (such as the flu) might have on the number of people dying.
- For each retail outlet distance decile, mid-year population estimates are used to calculate a weighted average life expectancy.
Data source: Health Foundation analysis of Consumer Data Research Centre, Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards, GB, 2017 and 2022; Office for National Statistics, Mid-Year Population Estimates for Middle layer Super Output Areas, UK, 2020; Office for National Statistics, Life Expectancy at Birth for Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs), England, 2016–20
