[Smoking habits since 1910 among Norwegian men and women born after 1890]

This article describes smoking habits among Norwegian men and women born between 1890 and 1974. In order to follow the smoking habits in groups which included the same persons throughout the observation period, the proportion of smokers in five-year birth cohorts of men and women was tabulated by age or calendar year of birth. The percentage of smokers was more than five times higher in men than in women born during the period 1890-94, but the gap declined with later year of birth until no gender difference existed between men and women born after 1950. Male smoking peaked in the 1950s with 76-78% smokers in men born in the period 1915-34. The highest proportion of female smokers was observed around 1970, when 52% smoked among those born in the 1940s. Since 1955, smoking has declined in all cohorts of men, whereas the decline in female smoking started in the early 1970s.