The total number of smokers around the world is growing, yet the prevalence of smoking is in decline, shows new data. Researchers at the University of Washington, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), calculated that 967 million people across the globe smoked every day in 2012, compared with 721 million in 1980. The increase was put down to population growth and increased tobacco use in developed countries.

However, while there are more individual smokers these days, the proportion of people who smoke has shrunk from 41 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women in 1980 to 31 and six per cent respectively today. Writing in JAMA, lead researcher Dr Christopher Murray said: “Despite the tremendous progress made on tobacco control, Office for National Statistics figures state that there are 10 million adult cigarette smokers in Britain.