Describing different cluster groups of adults who smoke
Smoking prevalence
In Wales in 2021/22, 13% of adults (aged 16+ years) reported that they smoke, 29% were ex-smokers and 58% reported never smoking from 6,405 responses (weighted).
Cluster groups
We identified 4 distinctive cluster groups of adult smokers (figure in brackets is the % of the population included in each cluster group).
1) Men and women without children who were more affluent, a mix of married couples and singletons, in good health, had higher alcohol intake (33%)
2) Men and women with poor health, mental health and wealth, more singletons, poorer education, more were females, more had children (14%)
3) Young men and women smokers who were mostly single with no children, trying to quit smoking and using e-cigarettes, a more educated and employed version of cluster 2, they were not as deprived but had poorer mental health (39%)
4) Older smokers, mostly retired, they were less deprived, had poor health but high life satisfaction (13%)
[Methodological note: All proportions listed above are weighted to national proportions; unweighted counts were 841 total responses, for cluster groups 1-4 unweighted counts were 233, 147, 261, 200 respectively].
Figure 2. Percentage of responses for selected questions and categories in adult smokers by cluster groups (N=833 weighted)
Clusters 1-4 were 33%, 14%, 39%, 13% of the response respectively; NSW 2021/22