The prevalence of cigarette smoking fell substantially in the 1970s and the early 1980s – from 45% in 1974 to 35% in 1982. After 1982, the rate of decline slowed, with prevalence falling by only about one percentage point every two years until 1996, when for the first time there was an increase, and 28% of all adults aged 16 and over were estimated to be cigarette smokers. However, prevalence fell back slightly to 27% in 1998 (unweighted data).

• In 2000, 27% of adults in Great Britain were current cigarette smokers; a fall of one percentage point compared with the weighted figure for 1998. This decline is not statistically significant, but the fall in two consecutive surveys confirms that the rise in prevalence in 1996, which occurred particularly among women, was not indicative of a new upward trend in smoking.

Results from the GHS since 1990 suggest that prevalence has levelled out, although there may still be a slight downward trend. It should be noted that even during periods when the prevalence of smoking in the general population is not changing, upward and downward movements in survey estimates are to be expected, because of sampling fluctuations.

Smoking among younger respondents is a key area of interest:

• Throughout the 1990s, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was higher among those aged 20 to 24 than among those in other age groups.
• This was not the case in 2000, however, because there was a fall in prevalence in this age group between 1998 and 2000, from 40% to 35%.
• Prevalence continues to be lowest, at 16%, among men and women aged 60 and over, who are less likely than younger people to have ever been smokers, and also more likely to have given up.