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Statistics on smoking

Contents

• Smoking: adults
• Smoking: young people
• Vaping
• Hospital admissions and deaths due to smoking
• Costs of smoking
• Local data

Smoking: adults

According to data from the Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey (APS), in 2024, around 10.4% of people aged 18 years and over in the UK were current smokers. This is the lowest reported figure since the APS data collection started in 2011, when an estimated 20.2% of adults smoked.

The smoking rate was highest in Scotland in 2024, at 12.0%, and lowest in England, at 10.4%.  Smoking rates have fallen in all countries of the UK since 2011. The largest decline was in Scotland, where rates fell from 23.4% in 2011 to 12.0% in 2022.

The chart below shows the prevalence of smoking by UK country from 2011 to 2024.

Demographics

Men are more likely to smoke than women in the UK; in 2024, 12.3% of men said that they were current smokers, compared to 9.0% of women.

Smoking prevalence was highest overall amongst people aged between 25 and 34 years old, and lowest amongst people aged 65 and older.

The chart below shows smoking prevalence by age and sex in the UK.

In 2024, smoking was more prevalent among:

• People who were unemployed (16.5%) compared with those who were employed (9.8%) or economically inactive (11.1%)
• People in a "routine and manual" socio-economic group (6%) compared with other socio-economic groups, particularly "managerial and professional occupations" (6.6%)
• Cohabiting (14.4%) or single (14.6%) people compared with those who were married or in a civil partnership (6.8%)
• Those who had no educational qualifications (25.2%) compared with people with qualifications, particularly with a degree or equivalent (5.1%)
• Social renters (23.8%) compared with other tenure groups, particularly people who own with a mortgage (7.0%) and own outright (6.1%)

Smoking during pregnancy

NHS England data on Smoking Status at Time of Delivery shows that in 2024/25, 6.1% of mothers were recorded as smokers at the time of delivery. When recording began in 2006/07, 15.8% of mothers smoked at the time of delivery.

Smoking by region

In 2024, smoking prevalence was highest in Yorkshire and the Humber (12.2%) and lowest in the South East (9.4%).

The proportion of people who smoke fell in all English regions between 2014 and 2024, but more in the North East (down 9.6 percentage points) and the North West (down 8.8 percentage points).  

Smoking: young people

The Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England publication provides data on smoking among school pupils in England based on a survey. The survey runs every two years; the most recent available data is for 2023.

In 2023, 11% of pupils aged 11-15 had ever smoked, and 1% described themselves as regular smokers. 

6% of pupils aged 11, 9% of pupils aged 13, and 22% of pupils aged 15% said that they had ever tried smoking.   Boys were slightly more likely than girls to be regular smokers. Girls were slightly more likely to have ever tried smoking.

The chart below shows the decline in regular smoking amongst school pupils from 2000 to 2023.

Vaping

According to data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, in 2024, around 6.7% of people aged 16 and over in Great Britain reported that they vaped (used an e-cigarette) daily. A further 3.3% reported that they vaped occasionally.

The proportion of people reporting daily or occasional vaping was highest among ex-smokers (17.4%) and current smokers (15.7%) compared with those who have never smoked (1.3%). 

16-24 year olds were more likely to report daily or occasional vaping than all other age groups. The chart below shows the proportion of people who vaped daily and occasionally in 2024.

In 2023, 5% of children aged 11-15 said that they vaped regularly and a further 4% said that they vaped occasionally. 25% said that they had ever vaped.

1% of pupils aged 11, 7% of pupils aged 13, and 19% of pupils aged 15 said that they vaped either regularly or occasionally.  

Hospital admissions and deaths due to smoking

Hospital admissions

NHS hospital episode statistics for England show that in 2022/23 (the most recent available data), there were an estimated 408,700 hospital admissions due to smoking amongst adults aged 35 and over. This was up 4.8% on 2021/22.  

This included 163,100 hospital admissions for cancers attributable to smoking, 63,600 for cardiovascular diseases, and 99,800 for respiratory diseases. 

Deaths

The NHS England publication Statistics on Smoking in England analyses ONS deaths data to estimate how many deaths were attributable to smoking. There have been no new estimates since 2019; NHS England says that “using the current methodology, it is not possible to accurately estimate smoking related mortality during the pandemic periods”.

In 2019, an estimated 15% of all deaths in people aged 35 or over in England – 74,800 deaths – were attributable to smoking.  

52% of cancer deaths and 47% of deaths due to respiratory diseases were attributable to smoking. In addition, in 2019, an estimated 13% (15,700) of deaths from circulatory diseases and 43% (800) of deaths from diseases of the digestive system were attributable to smoking.

20% of all male deaths were estimated to be attributable to smoking, compared to 12% of female deaths.

Costs of smoking

There is no clear consensus on the costs of smoking to the UK economy. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) estimated in 2024 that smoking in England costs £21.8 billion per year in health and social care costs and lost productivity. A wider ASH estimate put the cost of smoking in England at £43.7 billion per year, including £27.6 billion in lost productivity.

The Treasury does receives tax income because of smoking, which these estimates do not account for. Provisional HMRC estimates for 2024/25 show total tobacco tax receipts of £7.9 billion, including £5.9 billion from cigarettes.

Local data

The map below shows the proportion of people who smoke by local authority in England.