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Mrs. Renée Short
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of smokers who have been recorded by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in each single year during the last 20 years; and what these figures represent as a percentage of the total population during the same period.
Mr. Whitney
Questions about smoking have been asked in the General Household Survey in alternate years since 1972. The following table shows the numbers and percentages of persons who were recorded in the surveys as (a) smoking at all and (b) smoking cigarettes.
(a) Prevalence of smoking: 1972–1984 | |||
Persons aged 16 and over | Great Britain | ||
Current smokers* | Base=100 per cent. | ||
Percentages | Numbers | ||
1972 | 51 | 11,536 | 22,471 |
1974 | 52 | 10,990 | 21,281 |
1976 | 49 | 11,368 | 23,409 |
1978 | 46 | 10,258 | 22,518 |
1980 | †43 | 9,655 | 22,500 |
1982 | †39 | 7,689 | 19,730 |
1984 | †37 | 6,738 | 18,058 |
* For 1974 and 1976, figures include occasional cigar smokers, that is, those who smoked less that 1 cigar a month. | |||
† In 1980 to 1984 males were not asked about pipe-smoking, and therefore the figures for all smokers exclude those who smoked only a pipe. |
(b) Prevalence of cigarette smoking 1972–1984 | |||
Persons aged 16 and over | Great Britain | ||
Current cigarette smokers* | Base=100 per cent. | ||
Percentages | Numbers | ||
1972 | 46 | 10,495 | 22,620 |
1974 | 45 | 9,697 | 21,372 |
1976 | 42 | 9,774 | 23,482 |
1978 | 40 | 9,116 | 22,636 |
1980 | 39 | 8,885 | 22,554 |
1982 | 35 | 7,016 | 19,840 |
1984 | 34 | 6,206 | 18,205 |
* Figures for cigarettes include all smokers of manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes. |