The proportion of people that never smoke is among the highest in Iceland compared with other European countries. People with higher income are less likely to smoke.
Swedes least likely to smoke
Iceland has the third highest proportion of people who never smoke, just over 81%. Sweden has the highest proportion, followed by Britain, with just above and just below 83% respectively. The lowest proportions of non-smokers are found in Bulgaria, around 65%, Greece, just over 67%, and Turkey, 67.5%. Iceland has the fifth highest proportion of occasional smokers (just under 7%) but the second lowest rate of daily smokers (12%).
People with higher incomes less likely to smoke
Little over 24% of people in the lowest income quintile smoke with 16% being daily smokers. These proportions decline with higher income. The top quintile has the lowest proportion of smokers, just under 13% and 8% who smoke on a daily basis.
About the European Health Interview Survey
Health interview surveys offer comprehensive data on the health status of a population and health-related topics based on answers by respondents of a representative sample of the population. The Icelandic survey was collected in autumn 2015. The sample consisted of 5,700 individuals drawn randomly from the population registry. This yielded responses from 4,001 persons, a response rate of 70.2%.