Band 7+: The graph below gives information about the number of people who smoked cigarettes in the UK between 2011 and 2021. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Overall, the number of smokers declined steadily for both men and women throughout the period. Although male smokers consistently outnumbered female smokers, the gap between them gradually narrowed, and both figures reached their lowest points by 2021.

In 2011, the number of male smokers peaked at just over 4 million, while the figure for female smokers was slightly lower, at around 3.7 million. A sharp decline occurred in 2012, when male smokers dropped to approximately 2.75 million and female smokers to 1.9 million. Over the next few years, both figures fluctuated modestly, remaining between 2.5 and 3 million for men, and around 1.2 to 1.7 million for women.

From 2019 onwards, a noticeable downward trend resumed. In 2020, the number of male smokers fell to around 2.3 million, and female smokers declined to about 1.3 million. By the final year, 2021, the figures dropped to their lowest levels, with approximately 1 million male smokers and fewer than 0.7 million female smokers.