Fewer than one in ten adults now smokes. But the gap between us is getting wider
What happened
On 6 October 2026, the Office for National Statistics published its yearly report on adult smoking habits in the UK. It covers 2025. The headline number is a low one. Around 4.9 million adults in the UK still smoke. That is 9.8% of everyone aged 18 and over. A year earlier the figure was 10.6%. In 2011 it was 20.2%. So smoking has fallen by more than ten percentage points in fourteen years. For the first time, the rate has dropped below one in ten. The report also tracks e-cigarettes. About 5.4 million adults in Great Britain now vape, either daily or now and then. That is 9.9% of adults. In other words, slightly more adults vape than smoke. That crossover first happened in 2024 and it has carried on into 2025. The four UK nations are not all in the same place. England is at 9.5%, Northern Ireland 9.9%, Wales 11.1% and Scotland 11.4%. Age matters too. The group most likely to smoke is now people aged 45 to 54, at 12.4%. The groups least likely to smoke are the youngest adults, aged 18 to 24, and the oldest, aged 65 and over, both at 7.2%. That last point is the big one. Among 18 to 24 year olds, smoking has fallen by 18.5 percentage points since 2011. Young adults have walked away from cigarettes faster than anyone else.
Why this matters
Smoking is still the single biggest cause of illness and early death that we can actually do something about. Every person who stops is a person less likely to end up with lung cancer, heart disease, a stroke or a long-term lung condition. So a fall below 10% is genuinely good news, and it is worth saying so plainly. But the same report shows something less comfortable. Smoking has not fallen evenly. It has drained away fastest from the better-off and stayed stubbornly high elsewhere. Look at the figures by job type. Among people in professional and managerial work, 5.9% smoke. Among people in routine and manual jobs, 16.9% do. That is almost three times as many. Among people who are unemployed, 16.5% smoke. Among adults with no qualifications, 24.8% do. That is nearly one in four. So the national average is now 9.8%, but there are whole communities where smoking is still ordinary and common. The average hides them. This is why public health teams talk about a "smoking gap" rather than just a smoking rate. The gap is the bit that is getting harder to shift.
What the evidence actually says
A few things are worth being careful about. First, these are survey figures, not a headcount. The ONS asks a large sample of people about their habits and scales the answers up. People sometimes under-report smoking, because they know it is frowned upon. So the true figure could be a little higher. Second, the ONS is clear that this is a long-term trend, not a one-year wobble. The fall from 20.2% in 2011 to 9.8% in 2025 is steady and consistent. One year of data can bounce around. Fourteen years of the same direction is a real change. Third, on vaping, the ONS reports use, not harm. The figure of 9.9% tells you how many adults vape. It does not tell you whether vaping is safe. The NHS position is that vaping is far less harmful than smoking, and is a useful way for smokers to quit, but it is not harmless and it is not for people who have never smoked. Vaping is highest among 25 to 34 year olds, at 16.4%. Fourth, the rise in vaping and the fall in smoking are linked, but the report does not prove that one caused the other. Prices, smoke-free laws, advertising rules and changing social attitudes have all played a part. What the evidence does support is this: stopping smoking works at any age, and people who get proper support are much more likely to succeed than people who try alone.
Qurexa perspective
We deliver prescriptions and help people stick to their medicines across Lincolnshire, so we see the long tail of smoking most weeks. It turns up as inhalers, as heart medicines, as blood pressure tablets. If you are thinking about stopping, the useful thing to know is that help is close by and free. Local stop smoking services and community pharmacies can offer nicotine replacement, advice and regular check-ins. You do not need to see a GP first, and you do not need to pay for the advice. If you already collect a repeat prescription for a lung or heart condition, that is a natural moment to ask about quitting. The person handing over your medicine is often the easiest person in the NHS to talk to. And if getting to a pharmacy is the hard part, prescription delivery exists precisely so that a transport problem does not become a treatment problem.
Practical advice
If you smoke and you want to stop: Ask your local pharmacy what stop smoking support they offer. Many run a service. Many can supply nicotine patches, gum or spray. Search online for your local stop smoking service, or ask at your GP surgery. These services are free in the UK. People who use them are several times more likely to stop than people who go it alone. That is not a sales line, it is why they exist. Pick a quit date rather than quitting "soon". A date you have told someone about is much harder to drift past. If you have tried before and gone back to smoking, that is normal, not failure. Most people who stop for good have made several attempts first. Each one teaches you something about your own triggers. If you vape to stay off cigarettes, that is a recognised route. If you have never smoked, there is no health reason to start vaping. If you are a parent, the figures on young adults are worth sharing. Smoking is no longer the normal thing their generation does. That matters more to a teenager than any warning.
What to know
Fewer than one in ten UK adults now smokes: 9.8%, or about 4.9 million people. That is down from 10.6% a year earlier and from 20.2% in 2011. Vaping, at 9.9%, is now slightly more common than smoking. The good news is real. So is the uneven bit. Smoking is now three times as common in routine and manual jobs as in professional ones, and nearly one in four adults with no qualifications still smokes. If you smoke, free help is available from your local stop smoking service and from many community pharmacies, and using it makes success far more likely than trying alone. Sources: Office for National Statistics, 'Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2025', 6 October 2026, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/bulletins/adultsmokinghabitsingreatbritain/2025 ; NHS, 'Stop smoking treatments', https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/stop-smoking-treatments/ ; NHS Better Health, 'Quit smoking', https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you want to stop smoking, speak to your pharmacist, GP practice or local stop smoking service about the support that suits you.
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