Wales’ Headline Statistics

19% of Welsh adults smoke
Men = 21% and women = 17%
5,388 smoking attributable deaths and 26,489 smoking attributable hospital admissions annually
Lowest prevalence rates stand at 13% in Monmouthshire whilst Neath Port Talbot has the highest rates at 25%
The Welsh target of 16% of adults smoking by 2020 will not be met if latest projections are accurate, instead projected to be reached in 2025

Considering all NHS smoking cessation services (including ‘Level 3’ pharmacies and ‘in-house’ services available via hospitals and GP surgeries) only 3.1% of smokers in Wales accessed NHS services in 2017/18, falling below the Wales Tobacco Control Action Plan target of 5%.
43% of those who were supported successfully quit (4-week validation)

40% of adult smokers regularly smoked before the age of 16
8% of boys and 9% of girls (aged 15/16) smoke regularly – a reduction of 5% over the past 5 years
30 young people take up smoking every day in Wales

Since the 2007 smoking ban, 15% less children live with a parent who smokes
Children are over 70% more likely to start smoking if just one parent smoked, and over twice as likely if that parent is the mother
Second-hand smoke increases young infants’ risk of infections like flu, bronchitis and pneumonia by around 50%

Smoking rates in the most deprived areas of Wales stand at 28%, compared to 13% among the least deprived adults
Since the 2007 indoor smoking ban, smoking rates among the most socio-economic classes have dropped by 5%. Among those who are unemployed rates have actually increased by 2%
The ethnic groups with the highest rates of smokers are Afro Caribbean men at 37%, followed by Bangladeshi men at 36%
Smoking rates among female ethnic minorities are lower than the average whole population

Smoking is the biggest cause of health inequalities, especially among those with mental ill health, lower socio-economic status and pregnant women

Smoking rates among those with mental ill health stands at 36%, compared to 19% among the whole Welsh population
Men = 41%, women = 34% however men are more likely to have mental health issues

The proportion of pregnant women who smoked at initial assessment was higher for younger women, with 30% of women aged 24 or under smoking at initial assessment compared to 19% of women aged 25-34 and 16% of women ages 35 or over. (2017-18 )
Women aged under 24 are the age range most likely to smoke throughout their pregnancy
Cwm Taf Health Board has the highest rate of pregnant smokers at 24%, Cardiff and the Vale Health Board have the lowest at 14%

infections or disease among children

GP consultations

hospital admissions

cases of sudden infant death syndrome

34% of non-smoking adults are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke
Second-hand smoke exposure increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 20-30% and coronary heart disease by 25-35%
Smoking in the home has reduced from 80% to 46% and in other people’s homes from 36% to 20% since the 2007 smoking ban
There were 10% less asthma-related hospital admissions among children just one year after smoking bans were introduced, rising to 17% three years after

£ 0 million

Economic cost of smoking across Wales every year

£ 0 million

The cost of smoking to the Welsh NHS specifically per year

£ 0 million

Smoking cost to Welsh businesses specifically per year

20 a day = £56 a week, £243 a month, £2920 a year
10 a day = £120 a month, £1460 a year
28% – over 500,000 – could be lifted out of poverty if they stopped smoking
7 million households which include a smoker are in poverty
65% of Welsh people, including 24% of smokers, support increasing tax on cigarettes and tobacco

15% of all tobacco consumed in Wales is classed as illegal – higher than any UK region

71% agree that smoking should be banned in hospital grounds
61% agree with banning smoking in communal recreational spaces, such as parks and beaches
83% agree that smoking should be banned in outdoor children’s play areas
Someone dies from a fire caused by a cigarette every 3 days in the UK
163 fires in Welsh homes were caused by smoking materials annually
Cardiff Metropolitan University will be the first completely smokefree campus in Britain when it implements a ban at all its campuses from September 2019

Approximately 169,000 people vape in Wales

E-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes

Only 11% of adults have heard of heat not burn devices

A one-hour session smoking shisha is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes

Children’s playgrounds, school grounds and hospital grounds will be smokefree from summer 2019
There are 3 smokefree beaches in the UK, all of which are in Wales: 2 in Swansea and one in Pembrokeshire
Plain packaging became law in May 2016
Smoking in cars when someone under the age of 18 is present became against the law in October 2015
Point of sale display became law in December 2012 for large shops and April 2015 for smaller stores
The smoking ban in enclosed public places came into force in Wales in April 2007, a few months before England
Since the smoking ban in 2007, smoking prevalence among the public has fallen by 6%
Prevalence among teenage boys has fallen by 6% and by 14% among teenage girls since the 2007 legislation