Statistics on Smoking
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.
In 2023, around 11.9% of people aged 18 years and over in the UK were current smokers, equating to around 6 million people.
Men were more likely to smoke than women in the UK, with 13.7% of men and 10.1% of women reporting that they were current smokers in 2023.
Smoking prevalence for both women and men was highest among those aged 25 to 34 years, and lowest among those aged 65 year and over.
E cigarettesFigures for 2023 also show that around 9.8% of those aged 16 and over in Great Britain were daily or occasional users of e-cigarettes.
In 2023, 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 current use of e-cigarettes, rising from 4% in 2014 to 9% in 2023.
Health impactsSmoking is a leading cause of preventable illness and death. There were 408,700 hospital admissions due to smoking in 2022/23, and in 2019 there were 74,800 deaths attributed to smoking among adults aged 35 and over.
Further research from the Commons LibraryFurther Library research is available on the tobacco and vaping hub.