Number of smokers in NI continues to fall

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 13.3 per cent of people aged 18 and over in the UK smoked cigarettes in 2021, the equivalent of around 6.6 million people.

Wales and Northern Ireland reported 14.1 per cent and 13.8 per cent (a drop of 0.2 per cent on the previous period) current smokers respectively, the ONS said.

This is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records started in 2011, when it stood at 20.2 per cent.

The ONS said there had been a “statistically significant” drop in the proportion of smokers from 14.0 per cent of the population in 2020.

It added: “The trend in smoking prevalence continued to decrease, and the latest figure represents a 6.9 percentage point decrease in current smokers compared with 2011 (20.2 per cent of the population).”

The ONS said that vaping devices such as e-cigarettes had played a “major role” in reducing the prevalence of smoking across the UK.

It added that the proportion of vapers was highest among current cigarette smokers (25.3%) and ex-cigarette smokers (15.0%), with only 1.5 per cent of people who have never smoked reporting that they currently vape.

James Tucker, data and analysis for social care and health division at the ONS, said: “The decrease in the proportion of current smokers may be partly attributed to the increase in vaping and e-cigarette use.”

The ONS said that people who had no qualifications were more likely to be current smokers at 28.2% compared to those whose highest level of education was a degree or equivalent at 6.6%.