Giving up smoking harder the earlier you start

The age at which people start smoking can affect when they manage to give up. New research has uncovered that those who began smoking by age 16, and had a challenging childhood, found it harder to quit than those who started smoking at a later age, and had a happier upbringing.

What we asked you

As part of the Age 16 Survey, we asked you how often you smoked, if at all. At age 23, we asked you whether you were or had been a smoker. In subsequent surveys, we’ve asked you about your smoking habits. At seven, 11, and 16, your parents, teachers and health visitors provided information about your home life.

Quitting is harder for younger smokers 

In the Age 23 Survey, 8,757 study participants reported being current or former smokers. A team of researchers from the University of Toulouse analysed information collected from this group to explore factors connected to smoking and cessation.  

Among those who were or had been smokers at age 23, half had reported being smokers in the Age 16 Survey. This group were five times more likely to take longer to quit compared to those who had started smoking later (between age 16 and 23). They were also three times more likely to relapse, and five times more likely to be persistent smokers. 

How childhood adversity is linked to smoking  

The researchers also compared information about people’s smoking habits with information about their childhood circumstances, provided at ages seven, 11, and 16, by parents, teachers and health visitors.  

Three quarters of those who were smokers at 23 had a parent who smoked.  

Just over a third of those who started smoking by 16, and a third of those who were or had been smokers by 23, had faced childhood challenges such as neglect or being in care.*  

The impact of smoking was worse for those who had begun in adolescence and had faced difficulties growing up. They were more likely to take longer to quit, mostly in their 40s and 50s, compared to those who had not experienced childhood adversity and who started later, between age 16 and 23. They also had more of a chance of relapsing. 

Why this research matters

According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco use is responsible for the world’s leading causes of death: cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, and diabetes. Policymakers need to understand what makes people more likely to start smoking, so that they can focus on reducing these risk factors.  

The authors of this research suggest that smoking prevention should be targeted at adolescents – especially those who had a harder upbringing.  

Read the full research paper

The effect of smoking initiation in adolescence on the subsequent smoking trajectories of people who smoke, and the role of adverse childhood experiences: Results from the 1958 British cohort study by Camille Joannès, Michelle Kelly-Irving, Sébastien Couarraze, and Raphaële Castagné was published in November 2023 on the Public Health Nursing journal website. 

2025 update booklet: important correction

*In the booklet we sent you for your birthday in 2025, we reported that “Almost a fifth of those who started smoking by 16 had faced childhood challenges such as physical neglect”. This should have read, “Just over a third”.  We’re very sorry for this error and have provided the correct information in the above article.