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Statistical article

Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2023

Cigarette smoking habits among adults in the UK, including how many people smoke, differences between population groups, changes over time and use of e-cigarettes.

Release date : 1 October 2024
Next release : To be announced

Version : Latest
View previous releases

Contact : Health.data@ons.gov.uk

Headline facts and figures

6.0 million

people smoked cigarettes (aged 18 and above) in the UK in 2023

25 to 34 age

highest propotion of current smokers (14%)

5.1 million

adults aged 16 years and over uses an e-cigatette daily or occasionally

Using and interpreting the statistics in this release

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects data on adult smoking habits through two main surveys. The Annual Population Survey (APS) gives headline indicators of the number of adults aged 18 years and over who smoke in the UK. The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) collects information on e-cigarette use among those aged 16 years and over in Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland), as well as smoking habits and the intention to quit smoking.

Read more about these surveys in Quality and methods.

The following guide explains what you can and cannot do when interpreting and using the statistics in this release.

You can

  • Find smoking estimates, all of which fall within a range (or confidence interval) that shows the level of uncertainty around the estimate.
  • Compare trends over time, but be aware that some declines, especially during 2020, could be because of sample sizes and methods changes.
  • Examine trends in smoking habits by local authority, but we advise focusing on longer-term trends because short-term trends can vary more.

You cannot

  • Compare smoking in the UK, from the Annual Population Survey (APS), with smoking and vaping in Great Britain, from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN); the surveys cover different geographical areas and define a current smoker differently.

Find more information on the statistics in this release in Quality and methods. Further detail on our data collection and analysis methods is available in our methodology article.