Trends in major risk factors. Cigarette smoking.

The object of this paper is to examine the role of smoking as a risk factor in coronary heart disease, starting with a brief history of smoking in the U.K. and a reminder of the epidemiological evidence linking smoking and cardiovascular disease. This is followed by a more detailed look at the trends in consumption of tobacco and the major factors influencing those trends, together with an outline of the main components of a smoking control policy designed to combat our epidemic of smoking-induced disease.