Adult smokers
Published
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1. Main facts and figures
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the percentage of adults in England who were smokers was 2.4 percentage points lower in 2015 than it was in 2012
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in 2015, rates of smoking were highest in the Mixed and White ethnic groups
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in 2015, rates of smoking were lowest in the Asian, Black and Chinese ethnic groups
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between 2012 and 2015 smoking rates significantly decreased in the White ethnic group
Things you need to know
It is unlikely that everyone who currently smoked when they were surveyed responded accurately. This may be because of social stigma that some people attach to smoking or other concerns they may have had when giving an answer. As a result, the findings probably underestimate the true percentage of people who were current smokers.
Within each ethnic group the smoking rate can vary considerably between men and women. Data on gender variation in rates within ethnic groups is not reflected here but will be added to this measure at a later date.
Keep in mind when making comparisons between ethnic groups that all survey estimates are subject to a degree of uncertainty, as they are based on a sample of the population. The degree of uncertainty is greater when the number of respondents is small, so it will be highest for minority ethnic groups.
What the data measures
These statistics measure the percentage of the adult population of England who were smokers. They are based on the Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey (APS).
This survey has an annual sample size of approximately 290,000 respondents. Interviews are carried out either on a face-to-face basis or on the telephone.
Each participant in the APS who was aged 18 or older was asked whether they had ever smoked a cigarette (excluding e-cigarettes) and whether they currently smoked. The smoking rate is determined by dividing the number responding that they currently smoke by the total number of survey respondents aged 18 or older who answered the question.
The ethnic categories used in this data
For this data, the number of people surveyed (the ‘sample size’) was too small to draw any firm conclusions about specific ethnic categories. Therefore, the data is broken down into the following broad groups:
- White
- Mixed
- Asian
- Black
- Chinese
- Other ethnicity
- Unknown
2. Adult smokers by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Survey respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 16.9 | 168,794 |
| Asian | 10.0 | 10,193 |
| Chinese | 12.2 | 795 |
| Black | 11.3 | 4,506 |
| Mixed | 22.4 | 1,393 |
| White | 17.6 | 149,365 |
| Other | 16.7 | 2,446 |
| Unknown | 18.8 | 96 |
Download table data for ‘Adult smokers by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Adult smokers by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Adult smokers Adult smokers by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
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in 2015, smoking rates were highest in the Mixed and White ethnic groups, at 22.4% and 17.6% respectively
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in 2015, smoking rates were lowest in the Asian, Black and Chinese ethnic groups, at 10.0%, 11.3% and 12.2% respectively
3. Adult smokers by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 19.3 | 18.4 | 17.8 | 16.9 |
| Asian | 10.8 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 10.0 |
| Chinese | 11.5 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 12.2 |
| Black | 13.0 | 12.0 | 13.5 | 11.3 |
| Mixed | 24.9 | 25.5 | 24.4 | 22.4 |
| White | 20.1 | 19.2 | 18.5 | 17.6 |
| Other | 18.3 | 16.3 | 16.8 | 16.7 |
| Unknown | 23.5 | 16.0 | 15.3 | 18.8 |
Download table data for ‘Adult smokers by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Adult smokers by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Adult smokers Adult smokers by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
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in 2015, 16.9% of adults in England were current smokers, down from 19.3% in 2012
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between 2012 and 2015 the smoking rate for the White ethnic group decreased by 2.5 percentage points
4. Methodology
The Annual Population Survey has a sample size of approximately 290,000 respondents. Interviews are carried out either on a face-to-face basis or on the telephone.
Weighting
Surveys collect information from a random sample of the target population to make generalisations (reach 'findings’) about everyone within that population.
For those findings to be reliable, the sample of people should ideally contain the same mix of age, gender and regional location as the target population.
Where this isn’t the case (because some people haven’t responded, for example) analysts use statistical tools to ‘weight’ the data. Weighting rebalances the survey responses so they represent the target population more accurately. They can then be used to reach meaningful conclusions.
The APS datasets are weighted to reflect the size and composition of the general population, by using the most up-to-date official population data. Weighting factors take account of the design of the survey (which does not include communal establishments) and the composition of the local population by age and gender. The weights for other sample members are then adjusted to compensate for this.
Confidence intervals
Confidence intervals for each ethnic group are available in the ‘download the data’ section.
Based on APS data, it’s estimated that 16.9% of adults were current smokers in England in 2015.
The APS data is based on the responses of a sample of adults in England rather than all adults in England. This measure makes a reliable estimate of the percentage of adults in England who were current smokers at the time of the survey, but it’s impossible to be 100% certain of the true percentage.
It’s 95% certain, however, that somewhere between 16.7% and 17.1% of all adults in England were current smokers in 2015. In statistical terms, this is a 95% confidence interval. This means that if 100 random samples were taken, then 95 times out of 100 the estimate would fall between the upper and lower confidence interval. But 5 times out of 100 it would fall outside this range.
The smaller the survey sample, the more uncertain the estimate and the wider the confidence interval. For example, fewer adults from the Chinese ethnic group responded to the survey than White adults, so we can be less certain about the estimate for the smaller group. This greater uncertainty is expressed by a wider confidence interval, for example of between 10% and 14.5% for Chinese adults in 2015.
Observed differences are considered statistically significant when the 95% confidence intervals for an ethnic group don't overlap with those of the overall population of England.
The Normal Approximation method for calculating confidence intervals has been used.
For further details of the sampling method, weighting and confidence intervals visit the Office for National Statistics (ONS) page on the APS quality and methodology information.
Rounding
Unrounded
Related publications
Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2015
Quality and methodology information
Further technical information
Data for smoking prevalence by age and gender Data may be reused referencing the Annual Population Survey (PDF opens in a new window or tab)
5. Data sources
Source
Public Health Outcomes Framework - Smoking
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Public Health England
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
This data is used by government and healthcare providers to help inform smoking prevention policies and initiatives and measure their success.
Secondary source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is the largest ongoing household survey in the UK and covers a range of topics, including:
- personal characteristics
- labour market status
- work characteristics
- education
- health
The purpose of the APS is to provide information on important social and socio-economic variables at local levels, such as labour market estimates.
The published statistics also allow government to monitor estimates on a range of issues between Censuses.
6. Download the data
This file contains: time, ethnicity, value, upper and lower confidence intervals, unweighted sample size.