Statistics on Smoking

In 2022, around 12.9% of people aged 18 years and over in the UK were current smokers, equating to around 6.4 million people.

Men were more likely to smoke than women in the UK, with 14.6% of men and 11.2% of women reporting that they were current smokers in 2022.

Smoking prevalence was highest among those aged 25 to 34 years, and lowest among those aged 65 year and over.

E cigarettes

Figures for 2022 also show that around 8.7% of those aged 16 and over in Great Britain were daily or occasional users of e-cigarettes.

In 2021, less than 1% of 11-15 year olds reported regular smoking. However, there was an increase in the number of children and young people reporting use of e-cigarettes, rising from 6% in 2014 to 15% in 2021.

Health impacts

Smoking is a leading cause of preventable illness and death. There were 506,100 hospital admissions due to smoking in 2019/20, and in 2019 there were 74,800 deaths attributed to smoking among adults aged 35 and over.

Further research from the Commons Library

Further Library research is available on the tobacco and vaping hub.