Younger women bucking trend to take up smoking

Young women are bucking a nationwide trend toward giving up smoking, with the proportion who light up rising for the first time in nearly ten years.

Some 21 per cent of women aged between 16 and 34 now smoke cigarettes, according to latest figures from the office for national Statistics (ONS), a rise from 20 per cent a year earlier.

The i ncrease was f ound to be steepest among women aged between 25 and 34, where the proportion of smokers rose from 20.4 per cent to 21.8.

Smoking among young women had been declining steadily since 2008, when 27 per cent lit up regularly.

The figures, for 2014, show that smoking among men aged between 25 and 34 fell sharply from 30.3 per cent to 26.5.

The figure for men aged 16–34 was down from 28 per cent to 26.

overall, one in five men in Britain smokes. This compares with half of them in 1974 when current records began.

The figure for women is one in six, down from just over a third 40 years ago.

The statistics also show that more than two million people in Britain now use electronic cigarettes, although 59 per cent smoke regular cigarettes as well. Just over half (53 per cent) of e- cigarette users said they used vaping as an aid to quitting regular smoking.

The data also suggests there are 3.9million people who are former users of e- cigarettes and a further 2.6million people said they had tried an e-cigarette but never went on to use it.

Just over one in five (22 per cent) of current users said their main reason for vaping is because they feel that e-cigarettes are less harmful.

Senior ONS statistician Jamie Jenkins said: ‘These figures continue a long-term trend for fewer people to smoke cigarettes – only 19 per cent of adults today compared with 46 cent when our survey began in 1976.

‘While the majority of people are using e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking it seems they don’t work for everyone, as three- quarters of former vapers are still smoking cigarettes.’

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: ‘If we are to continue to drive down smoking we need a comprehensive tobacco control policy.’

She added that this should include media campaigns and help f or smokers who want to quit.