Characteristics of smokers in the 1999–2000 and 2004–2005 Italian national health interview survey
| 1999–2000 survey | 2004–2005 survey | |||
| Higher educated | Lower educated | Higher educated | Lower educated | |
| Males | ||||
| Number of ever smokers | 7247 | 15 242 | 7416 | 13 602 |
| % former smokers | 36.8 | 36.8 | 45.6 | 44.2 |
| Age at starting smoking* | 17 (16–19) | 17 (15–18) | 17 (15–19) | 16 (15–18) |
| Age at quitting smoking* | 34 (27–40) | 36 (29–45) | 35 (28–43) | 39 (30–47) |
| Females | ||||
| Number of ever smokers | 4887 | 7413 | 5195 | 6922 |
| % former smokers | 33.5 | 31.8 | 40.3 | 37.9 |
| Age at starting smoking* | 18 (16–20) | 18 (16–20) | 18 (16–20) | 18 (15–20) |
| Age at quitting smoking* | 30 (25–37) | 34 (27–42) | 31 (26–40) | 36 (28–45) |
*Median and interquartile range.