The table illustrates the percentage of male and female smokers aged 15-20 in Britain over a 30-year period, starting from 1970.
From an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that there was a growing interest in smoking among men and women until 1990 and 1995. After which, both genders underwent steady decreases. Additionally, the share of male smokers was almost higher than that of female smokers, except for 1990 and 1995.
In 1970, 10% of male smokers belonged to the 15-20 bracket, which was precisely double the figure for their female counterparts, at only 5%. The following decade saw dramatic changes: the smoking rate among men leapt approximately 13% every five years to reach 35% in 1980, compared to a slower growth in women’s data, rising around 8% every five years to 22% in 1980. By 1985, the proportion of young men smoking had hit a peak of 37%, while female smoking had also recorded a high of 34% in the same year, nearly matching the figure for men.
36% of male smokers aged 15 to 20 in 1990, which showed the beginning of a fall among this gender. In contrast, female youngsters pushed the smoking rate to a zenith of 37%, surpassing their male counterparts. Over the last decade in question, although smoking has gradually become less popular among 15-20-year-old people, the percentage of men and women adopting this activity was still more than three times the 1970 levels. In the final year surveyed, male smokers recovered their dominance with 28%, slightly higher than the figure for women (27%).