The prevalence of cigarette smoking varies considerably according to marital status, and is much lower among married people than among those in any of the three other marital status categories (single, cohabiting, and widowed, divorced or separated). This is not explained by the association between age and marital status (for example, married people and those who are widowed, divorced or separated are older, on average, than single people). Table 8.5 shows that in every age group (although this is much less marked among those aged 60 and over) married people were less likely to be smokers than were other respondents. For example, among those aged 25 to 34, as many as 41% of those who were single or cohabiting were smokers, compared with only 25% of those who were married.