Tobacco and Public Health - TCSC Indonesia

210
TOBACCO IN GREAT BRITAIN
Minority ethnic communities
Levels of smoking prevalence vary considerably between ethnic groups. In England
in 1999, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, and Irish men and women all had prevalence
rates above that of the general population while both Chinese men and women
were much less likely to smoke (Erens et al. 2001). There are also large variations in
smoking by sex. In South Asian communities few women smoke, but some do use oral
tobacco. This is most pronounced among Bangladeshi women, only about 1 per cent of
whom report smoking cigarettes, compared to over a quarter who say they chew tobacco
(Erens et al. 2001).
Region
Cigarette smoking prevalence has tended to be higher in Scotland than in England and
Wales, at least since regular national surveys of smoking prevalence began in the 1970s.
In 2000, about 30 per cent of men in Scotland smoked compared with 29 per cent in
England and 25 per cent in Wales. For women, the figures were 30, 25, and 24 per cent,
respectively (Walker et al. 2001).
Young people
Regular surveys of smoking among schoolchildren aged 11–15 have been carried out in
Great Britain since 1982. In nearly 20 years, regular smoking—defined as usually
smoking one cigarette a week—has fluctuated, but has been fairly stable (Fig. 10.3).
One notable feature has been that since the mid-1980s, girls have been more
likely than boys to be regular smokers, although boys smoke more. In the 2000 survey,
%
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
13
12
11
13
11
9
7 7
11 10
9 9
13
15
10 11
12
9
10
8
12 11
0
1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2000
Boys Girls
Fig. 10.3 Cigarette smoking by sex, secondary school children in England 1982–2001. (Source:
Department of Health 2002.)
9
8