Tobacco use: adult smoking in Scotland

Data for this section are drawn from the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) and the Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) and are based on adults aged 16 years and over.

Time trend

Creating a Tobacco-Free Generation: A Tobacco Control Strategy for Scotland announced the Scottish Government’s ambition for a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034 (defined by smoking prevalence of less than 5%). Performance against this target is tracked through the national indicator in the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework. 

Chart 1 (90Kb) shows that prevalence dropped noticeably from 28% in 2003 to 11% in 2021.

By age and gender

In 2021, 11% of women and 12% of men were cigarette smokers (see Chart 2 (91Kb)). Smoking prevalence is higher in men than women in each age category under 45-54 years. For both sexes, smoking prevalence is lowest among older people.

By SIMD quintile

Chart 3 (91Kb) shows a strong gradient in smoking prevalence across Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles in 2021. Smoking prevalence ranged from 5% in the least deprived quintile to 24% in the most deprived quintile.

By NHS board (based on the boundaries as at 1 April 2014)

Chart 4 (93Kb)) shows SHeS data over the five survey year period (2017/2018/2019/2020/2021), and provides representative NHS Board level data for adults aged 16 and over. This shows that the highest rate of smoking was in NHS Lanarkshire (19%) and the lowest in NHS Orkney (11%).

By local authority

As reported by the SSCQ in 2021, the highest prevalence of smoking was in North Lanarkshire (21%) and the lowest in East Dunbartonshire (9%) (see Chart 5 (92Kb)).