Fact 1. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in England.
Fact 2. Tobacco use contributed to 20% of deaths in men and 12% of deaths in women aged over 35 in England in 2017.
Fact 3. In 2018, 30% of unemployed people were smokers compared with 17% employed.
How Many Adults Smoke?
The proportion of adults who smoke has fallen by 10%, from 27% in 1993 to 17% in 2018, as you can see in the graph below:
What proportion of men compared to women smoke?
While the overall trend is downwards for both men and women, the gap between the two has slightly widened by 1%, from a gap of 2% in 1993 (Men 28% Women 26%) to 3% in 2018 (Men 18% Women 15%) with proportionately fewer women than men smoking, as can be seen in the following graph:
What proportion of different age groups smoke?
While the same proportion of smokers, 32%, aged 16-24 and 25-44 smoked in 1993, there were 2% more smokers aged 25-44 in 1993 (32% in 1993, 21% in 2018) than aged 16-24 ( 32% in 1993, 19% in 2018). Further, the gap between the number of smokers aged 45-64 (26% in 1993, 18% in 2018 ) and those aged 16-24 has reduced by 5 % ( 6% in 1993, 1% in ). Therefore, although the proportion of smokers aged 16-24 has fallen by 8% since 1993, this group still smokes proportionately more than those aged 45-64. Those aged 65+ proportionately smoke the least of any group and, like those aged 16-24, this has fallen by 8% (16% in 1993, 8% in 2018), as can be seen in the following graph:
Source: The Health Survey for England 2018
Further Information
To find out the trends for alcohol addiction click here, and for the trends for drug addiction click here.
If you would like to join our programme for help to quit smoking, alcohol, drugs or any other addiction please indicate the issue(s) on your sign up form. Please be aware that places are limited, and available on a first come first served basis, so to avoid disappointment please book early:
