HC Deb 19 July 1983 vol 46 cc123-4W
Mr. Proctor

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will obtain and list in the Official Report the numbers and percentages of smokers and non-smokers at the latest date, aged 16 years and over, of manufactured cigarettes, roll-your-own cigarettes, cigar smokers and pipe tobacco smokers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Patten

The latest estimates based on the general household survey for 1982 are as follows:

Persons aged 16 and over: Great Britain
Number (million) Per cent.
Current smokers of:
manufactured cigarettes 13.7 32
hand-rolled cigarettes 1.7 4
cigars 2.6 6
Non-smokers of cigarettes or cigars 26.2 61

The percentages add up to more than 100 because some of those who smoked cigars also smoked cigarettes.

No information was collected in the 1982 general household survey on pipe smoking. The latest information published in the report on the 1978 survey showed that 10 per cent. of men aged 16 or over smoked a pipe. The general household survey covered about 20,700 interviews with persons aged 16 and over in 1982 — of whom 19,840 provided information on smoking habits. Further details on cigarette smoking are published in OPCS monitor GHS 83/3 issued on 5 July.

Mr. Proctor

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys figures for the proportion of smokers aged 16 years and over include smokers of roll-your-own cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Patten

The figures for the proportion of cigarette smokers aged 16 years and over in 1982 published recently in OPCS monitor GHS 83/3 include smokers of both manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes. The figures do not include those persons who smoke only cigars or pipes.

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