Prevalence of cigarette smoking: by age and sex, 2002/03, GB
In 2002/03, 26 per cent of adults aged 16 and over in Great Britain were cigarette smokers - a slightly higher proportion of men (27 per cent) than women (25 per cent).
The proportion of adults who smoked was greatest among those aged 20 to 24 (37 per cent of men and 38 per cent of women). It then steadily declined with increasing age to 17 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women aged 60 and over.
Although, overall, a greater proportion of men than women smoke, this is not the case for young people aged 16 to 19. In 2002/03, 29 per cent of these young women were cigarette smokers compared with 22 per cent of young men.
Percentage of adults who smoke cigarettes: by sex, GB
The percentage of adults who smoked cigarettes fell substantially in the 1970s and the early 1980s – from 45 per cent in 1974 to 35 per cent in 1982. After 1982 the rate of decline slowed and then levelled out from 1992/93, at around 26 to 28 per cent.
In the 1970s men were far more likely than women to be smokers. In 1974, 51 per cent of men and 41 per cent of women smoked cigarettes. During the 1970s and 1980s the gap between men and women narrowed. It has still not disappeared completely but had fallen to 2 percentage points in 2002/03.
Smoking has declined across all age groups. The largest decrease was among those aged 50 and over, from 40 per cent in 1974 to 19 per cent in 2002/03. The decrease was smaller among those aged 20 to 24, falling from 48 per cent to 38 per cent over the same period.
Consistent with the pattern since the 1970s, in 2002/03 the prevalence of smoking was lower in England (26 per cent) and in Wales (27 per cent) than in Scotland (28 per cent). Across England, prevalence tended to be higher in the north than in the midlands and the south.
Smoking may lead to addiction and dependence. In 2002/03 more than half (57 per cent) of smokers in Great Britain said that they would find it difficult to go without smoking for a whole day.
Smoking is known to cause lung cancer and heart disease, and it contributes to a range of other diseases and conditions. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, responsible for 90 per cent of all lung cancer cases. It is estimated that each year over 120,000 people in the UK die from smoking-related causes, constituting around a fifth of all deaths.
In 1998 the Government set a target of a fall in the overall proportion of smokers in England from 28 per cent in 1996 to 24 per cent or less by 2010.
Sources: Office for National Statistics, General Household Survey for data on smoking prevalence The UK smoking epidemic: Deaths in 1995. Callum C. Health Education Authority, 1998 Notes: Data have not been age standardised. The General Household Survey figures before 1998/99 are based on unweighted data and from 1998/99 onwards on weighted data. The weighting procedure adjusts for differential non-response in different population groups.
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