Smoking in Scotland is the portal through which major findings from the Smoking Toolkit Study and other national data are made available to policy makers, clinicians, researchers, journalists and the general public. Details on the methods are at the bottom of this page. You can keep up to date by signing up to our mailing list.
Top-line findings on smoking in Scotland from the Smoking Toolkit Study.
Vera Buss, Robert West, Loren Kock, Dimitra Kale, Jamie Brown
Last updated: 15th September 2026
Monthly household surveys of representative samples of ~450 adults (16 years and older) in Scotland
Due to the pandemic, surveys are conducted by telephone (rather than face-to-face), and between October 2020 -December 2021, among adults aged 18 and over, and from January 2022, 16 and over
From April 2020 (switch to telephone), Ipsos started recording ~<5% cases as missing for social grade. To derive weight variable (which uses social grade), Ipsos assumed missing = social grade C1. To ensure analyses using weight and social grade reflect target weighed profile, social grade was recoded to reflect this assumption. Different assumptions for missing social grade cases were explored in a parallel telephone and face-to-face (with no missing social grade) wave, and this assumption found least distorting.
Fieldwork by IPSOS MORI
Sample weighted to match population in Scotland on key socio-demographics
