According to a report from Daily Advent on April 21st, a study released by University College London (UCL) showed an increase in smoking rates among middle-class women under the age of 45.
While the smoking rate among working-class women has decreased, the number of affluent women who smoke is increasing. The use of e-cigarettes among women aged 18 to 45 has significantly increased over the past decade, growing from 5.1% to 19.7%, a three-fold increase.
Scholars from University College London analyzed data collected from 197,266 adults between October 2013 and October 2023, including 44,052 women of reproductive age (18 to 45 years old). The research data came from the Smoking Toolkit Study, a continuous monthly survey of a nationally representative sample of English adults. The study was funded by the British Cancer Research Center and its findings were published in the journal "BMC Medicine".
This study shows that the smoking rate among working-class women and lower socioeconomic groups aged 18 to 45 has decreased from 28.7% to 22.4% over the past decade. However, among women aged 18 to 45 classified as relatively affluent, the smoking rate has increased from 11.7% to 14.9%.
Surprisingly, this trend does not apply to men of all social classes, as their smoking rates have remained stable over the past decade.
Research also indicates that among female smokers aged 18 to 45, the proportion of those who prefer hand-rolled cigarettes increased from 40.5% to 61.4% over 10 years. The research team speculates that the cost of living crisis may be affecting the financial situation of economically disadvantaged women, thereby impacting their smoking habits, including a shift towards lower-cost hand-rolled tobacco. These economic pressures may contribute to a decrease in smoking rates among lower social class women and encourage those who have not quit smoking to switch to hand-rolled products in order to continue affording their smoking habit.
Renowned author Sharon Cox points out, "The reasons for the increasing smoking rates among higher-income women under the age of 45 are not yet clear. However, it may be because the economic pressure of smoking has less impact on this group. Some people may also be turning to cheaper hand-rolled cigarettes, a trend most pronounced among lower-income female smokers, with 68% of them choosing hand-rolled cigarettes by 2023."
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