Prevalence – tobacco

Every day 350 young adults aged 18-25 start smoking regularly
New analysis for Action on Smoking Health by UCL researchers suggests that each day in the United Kingdom approximately 350 young adults aged between 18 and 25 start smoking regularly. That amounts to 42,500 since the King’s speech announced legislation would be tabled to raise the age of sale from 18 by one year every year from 2027 onwards, making an annual total of 127,500 | ASH, UK

Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2021, December 2022
Cigarette smoking habits among adults in the UK, including the proportion of people who smoke, demographic breakdowns, changes over time and use of e-cigarettes | ONS, UK

Local tobacco control profiles for England: short statistical commentary, December 2021
The current adult smoking prevalence in England for 2020 (April to December) was 12.1%. As explained in the ‘Background’ section below, due to a change in survey mode it is not appropriate to compare the 2020 prevalence figure to the previously published trend | OHID, UK

Current and past trends in tobacco and e-cigarette use and the impact of control measures: an analysis of survey data and other evidence (PDF) (2021)
Current and past trends in tobacco and e-cigarette use and the impact of legislative and regulatory controls on smoking and e-cigarette use behaviours are outlined in this multi-method research | NatCen, UK

Monitoring the Future: 2019 –  Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use, 2020
Vaping marijuana and vaping nicotine have increased dramatically among 19- 22 year olds, with both more than doubling between 2017 and 2019, according to the University of Michigan’s annual U.S. national Monitoring the Future (MTF) Panel Study [Press release here (PDF)] . In addition, use of marijuana in any form in 2019 among young adults ages 19-22 was at or near the highest levels seen over the past four decades | University of Michigan, USA

GDS: the world’s largest drug survey, 2020
The GDS Special Edition on COVID-19 was developed as part of a global effort to better understand the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives with a specific focus on the use of alcohol and other drugs, mental health and relationships. Over 55,000 people took part. The survey ran for 7 weeks in (May – June 2020) See the GDS COVID-19 Special Edition: Key Findings Report| GDS, UK

Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2019
Cigarette smoking habits among adults in the UK, including the proportion of people who smoke, demographic breakdowns, changes over time and use of e-cigarettes | ONS, UK

Vaping in England: evidence update March 2020
This update looks at the prevalence of vaping among young people and adults. It also reviews research literature on vaping among pregnant women and people with mental health conditions | PHE, UK

Smoking prevalence in young adults aged 18 to 34 years, 2019
This document shows trends in smoking prevalence calculated from the Annual Population Survey for young adults age 18 to 34 years, by sex and region | PHE, UK

Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2018
Cigarette smoking habits among adults in the UK, including the proportion of people who smoke, demographic breakdowns, changes over time, and use of e-cigarettes | ONS, UK

Local tobacco control profiles for England: July 2019 update
An overview of the extent of tobacco use, tobacco related harm and the measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level in England | PHE, UK

Towards a smoke-free generation: tobacco control plan for England, 2017
Outlining plans to reduce smoking in England, with the aim of creating a smoke-free generation | DoH, UK

Cost of smoking to the NHS in England: 2015
Data on the cost of smoking to the NHS to support the development of the new Tobacco Control Plan for England | PHE, UK

Health Survey for England, 2015 (published December 2016)
Latest statistics on adult and child smoking, e-cig use, alcohol use and obesity | NHS Digital, UK

Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2016
Cigarette smoking among high school students dropped to the lowest levels since the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) began in 1991, but the use of e-cigarettes among students poses new challenges according to the 2015 survey results released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Center for Disease Control, USA

Growing up unequal: gender and socioeconomic differences in young people’s health and well-being, 2016 (PDF)
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), a WHO collaborative cross-national study, has provided information about the health, well-being, social environment and health behaviour of 11-, 13- and 15-year-old boys and girls for over 30 years. This latest international report from the study presents findings from the 2013/2014 survey, which collected data from almost 220 000 young people in 42 countries in Europe and North America | WHO, Switzerland

State of tobacco control, 2016
The American Lung Association’s “State of Tobacco Control 2016” sounds the alarm about the troubling increase of youth tobacco use in our nation. While significant progress has been made in reducing youth cigarette smoking—an almost 42 percent decline in high school smoking rates since 2011—youth use of other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and hookah, is skyrocketing | American Lung Association, USA