Introduction: The aim of the study was to describe smoking and examine the association between socio-demographic factors (age, educational level and degree of urbanization) and smoking status, age at smoking initiation and heavy smoking.
Material and methods: The study is based on data from two cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2004 and 2006 among randomly sampled women and men (18-45 years). A total of 22,199 women (response rate: 81.4%) and 23,080 men (response rate: 71.0%) were included in the study.
Results: One third of the participating women and men reported being smokers. The majority smoked more than 15 cigarettes/day (59% women, 74% men). The proportion of never smokers was higher among the youngest. The proportion of daily smokers was lowest in the youngest age groups, especially among women. The prevalence of daily smokers was highest among participants with limited education, among women living in the southern suburbs of Copenhagen, and among men living in peripheral rural areas. In the multivariate analysis, smoking more than 15 cigarettes/day was strongly associated with age (less prevalent among the youngest) and educational level (more prevalent among participants with limited education). Age at smoking initiation seemed to decrease, as it was lowest among the youngest participants and among those with the lowest educational level.
Conclusion: Fewer and particularly fewer young persons start smoking. However, we found an uneven distribution in the proportion of smokers especially in relation to educational level but also in relation to degree of urbanization.