What are synthetic drugs?
New, synthetic versions of harmful drugs, including synthetic opioids and synthetic cannabinoids, are increasingly found in UK’s illegal drug markets.

This note includes statistics on smoking and e-cigarette use among adults and children and young people. Data on the health impacts of smoking in terms of smoking-related hospital admissions and deaths is also provided, as well as recent estimate of the economic costs associated with smoking.
Statistics on Smoking (980 KB , PDF)
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.
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.
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 Library research is available on the tobacco and vaping hub.
Statistics on Smoking (980 KB , PDF)
New, synthetic versions of harmful drugs, including synthetic opioids and synthetic cannabinoids, are increasingly found in UK’s illegal drug markets.
On 8 July 2025, there will be a Commons debate on alcohol and cancer. The debate will be led by Cat Smith MP. The Library will publish a briefing ahead of the debate.
The Controlled Drugs (Procedure for Specification) Bill 2024-2025 had its second reading on Friday 7 March 2025. It was considered by a Public Bill Committee on 25 June 2025 and report stage is scheduled for 11 July 2025. This is a private members' bill.