[Socioeconomic differences and smoking: clear connections with implications for tobacco policy]

- Smoking is more common among people with a lower educational level, professional qualifications and income. This is a major contributor to inequalities in health and mortality.- Inequalities in smoking appear to have their origin in early adolescence. Later in life these inequalities increase due to differences in smoking cessation between higher and lower socioeconomic status groups.- The inequalities in smoking cessation have already been explained in great detail. The close association between smoking and a lower level of education during adolescence is much less clear.- Evaluation of tobacco control measures has shown differences in effectiveness between groups of higher and lower socioeconomic status.- There are possibilities to allow measures to control tobacco to be more effective in groups of a lower socioeconomic status. Higher taxes on tobacco products should be accompanied by better access to professional help to stop smoking.- For the early recognition of unforeseen reactions, structural control measures should be monitored.