Top-line findings on smoking in England from the Smoking Toolkit Study.
Vera Buss, Robert West, Loren Kock, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Last updated: 16th October 2024
Discover Major Findings Relating to Smoking in England
Smoking in England is the portal through which major findings from the Smoking Toolkit Study and other national data are made available to policy makers, clinicians, researchers, journalists and the general public. Details on the methods are at the bottom of this page
Any tobacco smoking includes cigars, pipes, shishas, etc.
Base: Adults (16 and over)
Data collection paused in February 2020 among 16-17 year olds
Methods
Monthly household surveys of representative samples of 1700-1800 adults (16+ years old) in England
- Due to the pandemic, from April 2020 to December 2021 surveys conducted by telephone (rather than face-to-face) and among adults aged 18 and over. From January 2022 data collection resumed among those aged 16 and over.
- Between November 2020 and February 2022, ~0.8% of cases in England were incorrectly weighted 0. This has now been updated and some point estimates over this period have changed slightly (typically 1 d.p.) compared with earlier versions.
- From April 2020 (switch to telephone), Ipsos started recording ~<5% cases as missing for social grade. To derive weight variable (which uses social grade), Ipsos assumed missing = social grade C1. To ensure analyses using weight and social grade reflect target weighed profile, social grade was recoded to reflect this assumption. Different assumptions for missing social grade cases were explored in a parallel telephone and face-to-face (with no missing social grade) wave, and this assumption found least distorting.
Fieldwork by TNS/BMRB 2006 up to April 2013, then IPSOS MORI
Sample weighted to match population in England on key socio-demographics.
For more details on the methods see the published protocol here.
