Since 1982, the NHS in England has been keeping data on the number of young people (aged 11 to 15) who smoke.



Back when it started, more than half of children had tried a cigarette by the time they turned 15. In 2016, according to their latest data out today, it was less than 1 in 5.

In that period there have been a lot of governmental efforts to reduce smoking. For instance, in 1986 it was made illegal to sell tobacco to under-16s. Bigger health warnings were brought in in 2003. In 2007, smoking was banned in pubs and other workplaces, and the legal minimum age was raised to 18. These, among other things, may have helped contribute to the reduction in smoking.

Most commonly (in 48% of cases), underage smokers were given cigarettes by a friend; most of the rest bought them from shops. The use of e-cigarettes, which was first recorded in the survey in 2014, has gone up from 23% to 27% since then, but it's rare among non-smokers (13% of people who said yes to "ever used e-cigarettes" said no to "ever used cigarettes").

