Fewer than one in five people in England smoke, expert claims Government figures from the General Lifestyle Survey (GLS) have already indicated a UK-wide fall from 39% in 1980 to 21% in 2011 - with prevalence dipping to 19% in England while remaining at 24% in Scotland and Wales. Professor West, speaking at a conference in London, said the long-term reduction in smoking prevalence showed no sign of coming to an end. Government policies such as raising tobacco pricing, mass media campaigns, and the ban on smoking in public places and services to help smokers quit "definitely" have all played a role in cutting tobacco consumption and together their impact was significant, he added.. But there is no room for complacency, he warned, as had been seen in France where no attempt was made to follow up a big hike in tobacco prices. Smoking rates dropped sharply for a time, but then prevalence started to rise again. "You definitely need to keep bearing down on it," Professor West said. His team are currently tracking the smoking habits of over 16s, including conducting household surveys to collect information from around 1,800 people. Currently, the figures which are published online show that average smoking prevalence across England is 19.1%, with a marked difference between populations at the top and the bottom of the socio-economic scale. Among those in the upper and middle social brackets, only around 13% smoke. But tobacco is part of the lives of more than a quarter of people classified as being in the lower brackets. Tobacco use is recognised as the single biggest cause of preventable disease and early death in the UK, claiming more than 102,000 lives a year. It causes around 86% of deaths from lung cancer, 80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema, and 17% of deaths from heart disease. Professor West said: "2013 is going to be, almost without doubt, the first year for a hundred years where we're solidly below 20% smoking prevalence in England. It's going to be a big year. We are making progress. It's slow, and we'd like it to be quicker, but things are going in the right direction. Kate Alley, tobacco policy manager at Cancer Research UK, described the projected results as "good news," but said more must be done to encourage people to quit. "Research shows that when cigarettes are not sold in slickly designed packs, the health warnings are more prominent and young people find cigarettes less appealing," she added. We urge the Government to do the right thing and help protect young people from tobacco marketing and introduce legislation requiring cigarettes be sold in standardised packaging without further delay.