The 1981 New Zealand census has shown that since 1976 the proportion of cigarette smokers has fallen from 40% to 35% in men and from 32% to 29% in women. In men, there has been a reduction in smoking in every age group, but in women smoking has increased in those aged 20-24 and 70-74 years. More girls aged 15-19 years are smokers than boys. Maori rates of smoking are much higher than other ethnic groups but since 1976 there has been a considerable reduction in the proportion of Maori men and women who smoke. The important exception is that smoking by Maori women aged 20-24 years has increased to very high levels (70%). Almost half the men and a third of the women who smoke consume 20 or more cigarettes a day. The average number of cigarettes smoked per day has fallen since the 1976 census to 18 for men and 14 for women. From 1976 to 1981, the prevalence of smoking in New Zealand has shown a considerable reduction in non-Maori and Maori men and women of most ages, except for younger women.