Current changes in smoking attitudes and behaviours among adolescents in Wales, 1986-1992

This paper presents data on recent trends in adolescent smoking in Wales. The data are drawn from four large-scale surveys conducted across the Principality in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992. The results show that there has been some success in delaying early experimentation with smoking, as well as some improvement in the attitudes of smokers towards their habit. Against this, there has been little change in smoking prevalence amongst both boys and girls, and cigarettes remained widely available for purchase by the under-16s. The implications of these findings for further action on smoking and the young are discussed.