Has Birmingham officially got it going on? The West Midlands has been named Britain’s “kissing capital”, according to new YouGov research. Commissioned by Waken Mouthcare for its Big Kiss Report, the study found that 50% of adults in the West Midlands say they kissed someone romantically in the last week!
To put this into context, this is the highest figure recorded anywhere in Britain, and is well above the national average of 43%. Rylan, “Head of Teeth” at Waken, said: “West Midlands, you beauty. Most kissed, most rinsed and absolutely not tolerating garlic breath. Honestly, the region sounds like it has romance figured out.”
The West Midlands also scored highly for romantic preparation habits and attitudes:
- 33% use mouthwash before a romantic moment or date
- 42% say strong food smells like garlic or coffee would ruin a kiss
- 55% say being “relaxed and natural” makes someone instantly more kissable
While across Britain:
- 63% of adults named bad breath as one of the top three things most likely to ruin a romantic kiss
- 51% of romantic kissers say they have avoided kissing someone because of worries about their own breath, mouth taste or dry mouth
Simon Duffy, founder of Waken Mouthcare, said: “What’s interesting about the West Midlands findings is that people there seem both prepared and relaxed. They clearly care about fresh breath and confidence, but they’re also highly likely to say the best kisses happen when people feel natural rather than overthinking it.”
The findings form part of British mouthcare brand Waken’s wider Big Kiss Report, a social-first campaign exploring Britain’s real-life kissing habits, anxieties and romantic rituals. 2,078 UK adults participated in the survey, of which 173 were in the West Midlands.
