Table 1

Characteristics of the ‘Year 10’ sample by year (percentages)

Variable	Year
Variable	2009	2010	2011	2012
n (count)	25 762	32 605	26 645	28 447
Age (years)
14	65	62	82	83
15	35	38	18	17
Sex
Male	47	53	48	48
Female	53	48	52	52
Ethnicity (prioritised)
NZ European	61	58	59	57
Māori	18	20	20	20
Pasifika	9	10	9	9
Asian	11	11	11	12
Other	1	1	1	2
SES, based on school decile*
Low (1–3)	14	16	15	16
Medium (4–7)	45	45	42	41
High (8–10)	42	39	43	43
Smoking status
Never smoker, not susceptible	44	48	52	52
Never smoker, susceptible	18	16	17	16
Experimented in past	21	21	18	19
Less than monthly	5	6	5	5
Monthly	3	2	2	2
Weekly	3	2	2	2
Daily	6	6	5	5

*A school's decile rating indicates the extent to which it draws its students from low socioeconomic communities. A low decile represents a school with a high proportion of students from disadvantaged communities. Deciles are used to allocate differential funding in New Zealand's public education system.
SES, socioeconomic status.