Mean reported age of first smoking by sex and 10-year birth cohort among current smokers (reported in 1994 and 2004 study rounds)
| Year of birth | Male—mean age of starting smoking | Female—mean age of starting smoking | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 data | 1994 data | 2003 data | 1994 data | ||
| Values in parentheses are 95% CI. | |||||
| 1970–9 | Mean | 15.4 (14.8 to 16.0) | 15.7 (15.4 to 16.0) | 16.2 (15.9 to 16.6) | 16.8 (16.4 to 17.3) |
| Number of smokers | 49 | 304 | 134 | 118 | |
| 1960–9 | Mean | 16.7 (15.9 to 17.6) | 16.3 (16.0 to 16.6) | 18.1 (17.5 to 18.6) | 19.4 (18.8 to 20.0) |
| Number of smokers | 87 | 551 | 146 | 148 | |
| 1950–9 | Mean | 17.4 (16.5 to 18.4) | 16.9 (16.5 to 17.2) | 19.5 (18.5 to 20.4) | 22.9 (21.5 to 24.3) |
| Number of smokers | 100 | 531 | 81 | 102 | |
| 1940–9 | Mean | 16.6 (15.8 to 17.4) | 17.8 (17.1 to 18.5) | 20.5 (19.4 to 21.7) | 26.4 (23.5 to 29.4) |
| Number of smokers | 118 | 315 | 61 | 42 | |
| 1930–9 | Mean | 16.3 (15.0 to 17.6) | 16.7 (15.9 to 17.5) | 24.3 (20.1 to 28.5) | 23.8 (20.5 to 27.0) |
| Number of smokers | 100 | 287 | 23 | 18 | |
| 1920–9 | Mean | 15.5 (14.6 to 16.4) | 17.1 (15.8 to 18.4) | 27.0 (21.8 to 32.2) | 28.6 (15.2 to 42.0) |
| Number of smokers | 116 | 118 | 10 | 8 | |