Smoking in Scotland
19% of men and 16% of women in Scotland smoke.
Smoking rates
Two thirds of Scottish smokers say they would like to stop smoking.
An estimated 28 young adults (aged 18-25) start smoking every day.
People who smoke use an average of 11.4 cigarettes a day.
Death and disease
In 2022, there were 8,942 smoking-attributable deaths, accounting for 20% of all deaths in Scotland. Smoking is linked to more deaths than suicide, alcohol, homicide, drug, fire and accidental deaths combined.
There were 88,779 smoking-related hospital admissions, equating to 243 people every day. Smoking-attributable admissions accounted for around 8% of all hospital admissions in 2022.
An average of 22 years of life are lost for every smoking-related death in Scotland.
It is estimated that the smoking costs NHS Scotland between £250 and 500 million.
Deprivation and inequalities
People in the poorest communities are 3.5 times more likely to smoke (25%) than those in the wealthiest communities (7%).
20% of people with a long-term mental health disorder smoke compared to 15% without.
Pregnant women in the most deprived SIMD quintile were 8.5 times more likely to report smoking at their first antenatal appointment (20.4%) compared to those in the least deprived quintile (2.4%).
72% of all smokers are from the 40% most deprived communities in Scotland (SIMD 1+2)
Finances and poverty
An ASH Scotland report from 2023 showed that the average smoking household spends 8% of its income on tobacco.
In contrast, households in the most deprived communities spend 12% and those in the least deprived spend 4.9%.
The average smoker will spend around £2,450 a year on smoking in 2024.
Around 60,600 households would be lifted out of relative poverty if they quit smoking.
Read more about smoking in deprived areas
You can download a PDF file of the 'Smoking in Scotland' factsheet which includes references.
