Percentage of adults who smoke cigarettes: by age and sex, 2004, GB
Among adults aged 16 and over in GB, one in four (25 per cent) were cigarette smokers in 2004 – with a slightly higher proportion of men (26 per cent) than women (23 per cent). People in routine and manual households were more likely to smoke than those in managerial and professional households (31 per cent compared with 18 per cent).
The proportion of adults who smoked was greatest among men and women aged 20 to 34 (36 and 29 per cent respectively). It then steadily declined with increasing age to 15 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women aged 60 and over. In contrast, the average number of cigarettes smoked per day in 2004 was highest for smokers aged 50 to 59 – 18 by men and 15 by women. Average daily cigarette consumption by adults in 2004 was 15 for men and 13 for women.
Smoking prevalence 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, at around 27 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 falling to 2 percentage points in 1990. Since then, the gender gap has remained fairly constant, fluctuating between 2 and 4 percentage points.
Smoking has declined in all age groups. The largest decrease was in the 50 to 59 age group, from 51 per cent in 1974 to 24 per cent in 2004. The smallest decrease was in the 16 to 19 and 20 to 24 age groups, falling from 40 to 24 per cent and 48 to 32 per cent respectively over the same period.
Prevalence of cigarette smoking among young people: by age and sex, England, 2004
In a separate survey of school pupils in England in 2004 the proportion of regular smokers (smoking at least one cigarette a week) increased substantially with age. By age 15, 26 per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys smoked regularly.
Since 1986 the proportion of girls aged between 13 and 15 who were regular smokers has exceeded the corresponding proportion of boys.
Among regular smokers aged 11 to 15, the average number of cigarettes smoked per day remained fairly stable between 1982 and 2002 but was higher for boys (over seven per day) than for girls (between six and seven).
Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, responsible for nine out of ten cases, and it contributes to a range of other diseases and conditions, such as heart and respiratory diseases. It is estimated that between 1998 and 2002 on average 106,000 people a year died from smoking-related causes in the UK – around one in six of all deaths.
Sources: General Household Survey, Office for National Statistics Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2004, National Centre of Social Research/National Foundation for Education Research for Department of Health
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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