Smoking in England?

Question

Does anyone know the answers to the following? (I'm writing a paper and can not find the answers anywhere!)

- What percentage of the English population smoked in the 1890's (aprox)

- What was the average age that someone took up smoking in England in the late 1800's

Thanks

Answer 1

Try the census but im not sure you can get an exact figure

They did not live in a surveillance society back then

Answer 2

I do not think that the statistics you are looking for exist. The habit of smoking became more common after the Crimean War and spread widely from then on. Because the dangers to health were not recognised until well into the Twentieth Century no one detected a connection between smoking and disease and therefore no one kept count.