This statistic displays the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults in the United Kingdom from 1974 to 2019, by gender. The prevalence of smoking among men and women has substantially declined since 1974. In 2019, 15.9 percent of men and 12.5 percent of women smoked cigarettes, which is one third the rate reported in 1974.

In England in 2022, 21 percent of men and 15 percent of women aged between 25 and 34 years were current smokers, this is the highest share of male and female smokers across the age groups. Across all age groups men either had a higher or equal share of smokers compared to females. Situation north of the border In Scotland, the highest share of regular smokers is found in the age group between 45 to 64 years at 13 percent, followed by those aged between 16 and 44 years at 12 percent. In 2020, 11 percent of men and eight percent of women overall in Scotland were current smokers. Dangers of smoking  Over 1.9 million admissions to NHS hospitals in England in the financial year 2019/20 were caused by smoking. The number of admissions as a result of smoking has been creeping upwards since 2000. Consequently, the number of admissions due to cancers caused by smoking in England has increased since the year 2000, reaching almost 381 thousand in 2019/20. 

This report presents statistics on mother’s smoking status at time of delivery, at national and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level. This release includes the quarter 4 2019-20 information alongside the finalised data for 2019-20 financial year.

This report contains results from the latest survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15), focusing on smoking, drinking and drug use. It covers a range of topics including prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing. This survey is usually run every two years, however, due to the impact that the Covid pandemic had on school opening and attendance, it was not possible to run the survey as initially planned in 2020; instead it was delivered in the 2021 school year. In 2021 additional questions were also included relating to the impact of Covid. They covered how pupil's took part in school learning in the last school year (September 2020 to July 2021), and how often pupil's met other people outside of school and home. Results of analysis covering these questions have been presented within parts of the report and associated data tables. It includes this summary report showing key findings, excel tables with more detailed outcomes, technical appendices and a data quality statement. An anonymised record level file of the underlying data on which users can carry out their own analysis will be made available via the UK Data Service later in 2022 (see link below).

As of 2019, England was the country in the UK with the lowest share of current smokers in the adult population. However, the population of Northern Ireland were the least likely to have ever smoked in their lives, with 62.6 percent saying they had never smoked.

Annual data on the proportion of adults in Great Britain who smoke cigarettes, cigarette consumption, the proportion who have never smoked cigarettes and the proportion of smokers who have quit by sex and age over time.

This statistic displays the national smoking rates of adults in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019, by country. The largest proportion of smokers was in Scotland, with 16.3 percent of adults smokers based in this country.

This statistic displays the proportion of children who have ever smoked cigarettes in England in 2019, by gender and age. In this year, ten percent of boys and nine percent of girls aged between 13 and 15 years old have smoked cigarettes.

This report presents statistics on women’s smoking status at time of delivery, at Sub Integrated Care Board (Sub-ICB), Integrated Care Board (ICB), Commissioning Region and national levels. This release includes data for quarter 4 of 2022-23 alongside finalised data for the 2022-23 financial year.

In England in 2022, 60 percent of men and 68 percent of women said they never regularly smoked cigarettes, while 26 percent of men and 21 percent of women mentioned they used to smoke cigarettes regularly. Smokers broken down by age Across all age groups in England, males have a higher or equal share of smokers compared to females. In 2020, 22 percent of men and 15 percent of women aged between 25 and 34 years were current smokers, this is the highest share of male and female smokers across the age groups. While 11 percent of men aged between 16 and 24 years are classed as current smokers. Dangers of smoking   Almost two million admissions to NHS hospitals in England in the financial year 2019/20 were caused by smoking. The number of admissions as a result of smoking has been creeping upwards since 2000. Consequently, the number of admissions due to cancers caused by smoking in England has increased since the year 2000, reaching around 382 thousand in 2019/20. 

United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Females: % of Female Adults data was reported at 13.500 % in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 14.200 % for 2019. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Females: % of Female Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 17.400 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2020, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.500 % in 2000 and a record low of 13.500 % in 2020. United Kingdom UK: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Females: % of Female Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of the female population ages 15 years and over who currently use any tobacco product (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco) on a daily or non-daily basis. Tobacco products include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipes (hookah, shisha), bidis, kretek, heated tobacco products, and all forms of smokeless (oral and nasal) tobacco. Tobacco products exclude e-cigarettes (which do not contain tobacco), “e-cigars”, “e-hookahs”, JUUL and “e-pipes”. The rates are age-standardized to the WHO Standard Population.;World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.a.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/]. Previous indicator name: Smoking prevalence, females (% of adults) The previous indicator excluded smokeless tobacco use, while the current indicator includes it. The indicator name and definition were updated in December, 2020.

In 2000/01 there were approximately 1.28 million adults admitted to hospital in England due to an illness caused by smoking. By 2019/20 the number of hospital admissions as a result of smoking had increased to approximately 1.99 million, the largest number during the provided time period.

Smoking prevalence across age groups in England

In England in 2018, 27 percent of men and 22 percent of women aged between 25 and 34 years were current smokers. This is the highest share of male smokers across the age groups, while the age group of 45 to 54 years had the second largest proportion of female smokers at 18 percent.

Situation north of the border

In Scotland, the highest share of regular smokers is found in the age group 25 to 44 years at approximately 22 percent, followed by those aged between 45 and 54 years at 21 percent. In 2019, 19 percent of men and 16 percent of women overall in Scotland were current smokers. 

U.K. smoking rate for 2020 was 15.40%, a 0.7% decline from 2019.

• U.K. smoking rate for 2019 was 16.10%, a 0% increase from 2018.
• U.K. smoking rate for 2018 was 16.10%, a 3.2% decline from 2015.
• U.K. smoking rate for 2015 was 19.30%, a 4.8% decline from 2010.

Prevalence of smoking is the percentage of men and women ages 15 and over who currently smoke any tobacco product on a daily or non-daily basis. It excludes smokeless tobacco use. The rates are age-standardized.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Health Survey for England (HSE) is a series of surveys designed to monitor trends in the nation's health. It was commissioned by NHS Digital and carried out by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of the National Centre for Social Research and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.
The aims of the HSE series are:

• to provide annual data about the nation’s health;
• to estimate the proportion of people in England with specified health conditions;
• to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these conditions;
• to examine differences between population subgroups in their likelihood of having specific conditions or risk factors;
• to assess the frequency with which particular combinations of risk factors are found, and which groups these combinations most commonly occur;
• to monitor progress towards selected health targets
• since 1995, to measure the height of children at different ages, replacing the National Study of Health and Growth;
• since 1995, monitor the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.

The survey includes a number of core questions every year but also focuses on different health issues at each wave. Topics are revisited at appropriate intervals in order to monitor change.

Further information about the series may be found on the NHS Digital Health Survey for England; health, social care and lifestyles webpage, the NatCen Social Research NatCen Health Survey for England webpage and the University College London Health and Social Surveys Research Group UCL Health Survey for England webpage.

Changes to the HSE from 2015:
Users should note that from 2015 survey onwards, only the individual data file is available under standard End User Licence (EUL). The household data file is now only included in the Special Licence (SL) version, released from 2015 onwards. In addition, the SL individual file contains all the variables included in the HSE EUL dataset, plus others, including variables removed from the EUL version after the NHS Digital disclosure review. The SL HSE is subject to more restrictive access conditions than the EUL version (see Access information). Users are advised to obtain the EUL version to see if it meets their needs before considering an application for the SL version.

COVID-19 and the HSE:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HSE 2020 survey was stopped in March 2020 and never re-started. There was no publication that year. The survey resumed in 2021, albeit with an amended methodology. The full HSE resumed in 2022, with an extended fieldwork period. Due to this, the decision was taken not to progress with the 2023 survey, to maximise the 2022 survey response and enable more robust reporting of data. See the NHS Digital Health Survey for England - Health, social care and lifestyles webpage for more details.

HSE 2019

The HSE 2019 was the twenty-ninth year of the survey. It included additional topics on providing unpaid social care, dental health, eating disorders, use of GP and counselling services, and awareness of two mental health resources, Good Thinking and Every Mind Matters. The survey also provided updates on repeated core topics, including general health, long standing illness, smoking and drinking.

Main Topics:

Core topics

• General health
• Longstanding illness
• Smoking
• Average weekly alcohol consumption
• Drinking (heaviest day in last week)
• Consent to data linkage (NHS central register, HES)
• Socio-economic information: sex, age, income, education, employment etc
• Prescribed medications (nurse)

Additional topics

• Social care receipt and provision
• Provision of unpaid care
• Dental health
• Use of GP and counselling services
• Eating disorders

Measurements

• Height and weight
• Blood pressure (nurse)
• Waist and hip circumference (nurse)
• Blood sample for cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin (nurse)
• Saliva sample (nurse)

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Health Survey for England (HSE) is a series of surveys designed to monitor trends in the nation's health. It was commissioned by NHS Digital and carried out by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of the National Centre for Social Research and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.The aims of the HSE series are:to provide annual data about the nation’s health;to estimate the proportion of people in England with specified health conditions;to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these conditions;to examine differences between population subgroups in their likelihood of having specific conditions or risk factors;to assess the frequency with which particular combinations of risk factors are found, and which groups these combinations most commonly occur;to monitor progress towards selected health targetssince 1995, to measure the height of children at different ages, replacing the National Study of Health and Growth;since 1995, monitor the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.The survey includes a number of core questions every year but also focuses on different health issues at each wave. Topics are revisited at appropriate intervals in order to monitor change. Further information about the series may be found on the NHS Digital Health Survey for England; health, social care and lifestyles webpage, the NatCen Social Research NatCen Health Survey for England webpage and the University College London Health and Social Surveys Research Group UCL Health Survey for England webpage. Changes to the HSE from 2015:Users should note that from 2015 survey onwards, only the individual data file is available under standard End User Licence (EUL). The household data file is now only included in the Special Licence (SL) version, released from 2015 onwards. In addition, the SL individual file contains all the variables included in the HSE EUL dataset, plus others, including variables removed from the EUL version after the NHS Digital disclosure review. The SL HSE is subject to more restrictive access conditions than the EUL version (see Access information). Users are advised to obtain the EUL version to see if it meets their needs before considering an application for the SL version. HSE 2019 The HSE 2019 was the twenty-ninth year of the survey. It included additional topics on providing unpaid social care, dental health, eating disorders, use of GP and counselling services, and awareness of two mental health resources, Good Thinking and Every Mind Matters. The survey also provided updates on repeated core topics, including general health, long standing illness, smoking and drinking. Main Topics: Core topics General health Longstanding illness Smoking Average weekly alcohol consumption Drinking (heaviest day in last week) Consent to data linkage (NHS central register, HES) Socio-economic information: sex, age, income, education, employment etc Prescribed medications (nurse) Additional topics Social care receipt and provision Provision of unpaid care Dental health Use of GP and counselling services Eating disorders Measurements Height and weight Blood pressure (nurse) Waist and hip circumference (nurse) Blood sample for cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin (nurse) Saliva sample (nurse) Multi-stage stratified random sample Clinical measurements Face-to-face interview: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI) Self-administered questionnaire: Computer-assisted (CASI)

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People surveys began in 1982, under the name Smoking among Secondary Schoolchildren. The series initially aimed to provide national estimates of the proportion of secondary schoolchildren aged 11-15 who smoked, and to describe their smoking behaviour. Similar surveys were carried out every two years until 1998 to monitor trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking. The survey then moved to an annual cycle, and questions on alcohol consumption and drug use were included. The name of the series changed to Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young Teenagers to reflect this widened focus. In 2000, the series title changed, to Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People. NHS Digital (formerly the Information Centre for Health and Social Care) took over from the Department of Health as sponsors and publishers of the survey series from 2005. From 2014 onwards, the series changed to a biennial one, with no survey taking place in 2015, 2017 or 2019.

In some years, the surveys have been carried out in Scotland and Wales as well as England, to provide separate national estimates for these countries. In 2002, following a review of Scotland's future information needs in relation to drug misuse among schoolchildren, a separate Scottish series, Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) was established by the Scottish Executive.

In 2020, due to the impact that the Covid pandemic had on school opening and attendance, it was not possible to run the survey as initially planned; instead, the survey was delivered in the 2021 school year.

Main Topics:

• Social behaviour and attitudes
• Health behaviour
• Drug abuse, alcohol and smoking
• Consumption and consumer behaviour
• Youth

As of 2019, the share of the UK population that currently smoked and identified as heterosexual/straight was 13.8 percent. Those that had identified as gay or lesbian had a larger share of the population that currently smoked, at approximately 19.5 percent.

The data provided here comes grouped by the indicator domain: Hospital admissions for Drug Use, Obesity and Smoking to 2022/23. Note: Obesity admissions for 2022/23 include measures where OPCS codes have been aligned with the National Obesity Audit. Note: There has been a methodology change for hospital admissions attributable to smoking and we have used this methodology to back date the time series within this publication. Note: Alcohol data is available from OHID (please see link below). Prescriptions covering Alcohol, Obesity and Smoking to 2022/23. Affordability and expenditure covering Alcohol and Smoking to 2023. Unchanged in this release but to be updated during 2024: Deaths covering Smoking only to 2019.