Abstract IntroductionSmoking is a modifiable risk factor; effective tobacco control measures can reduce the prevalence of smoking in the population. Survey data has shown that smoking prevalence has a clear gradient by socio-economic deprivation (ranging from 27.2% in the most deprived to 7.9% in the least deprived, Annual Population Survey (APS), 2016), but how much of this can be explained by the characteristics of the respondents in each group?MethodsWe analysed responses to the question ‘Do you smoke cigarettes at all nowadays?’ from the APS for England residents aged 18 and over. We assigned each respondent to a deprivation decile based on their lower super output area of residence and used logistic regression to explore if the characteristics of the groups (including age, sex, general health, qualifications and benefits status) account for any of the difference in smoking rates between deciles.ResultsRespondents in the most deprived group had more than 4 times the odds of being a smoker compared with those in the least deprived (Odds Ratio (OR) 4.74, 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 4.42-5.08). Other factors accounted for more than half of the difference (Adjusted OR 2.00, 95%CI 1.86-2.14).ConclusionIndividual characteristics can somewhat explain the differences in smoking prevalence between the deprivation deciles. Further investigation would allow us to explore whether particular combinations of inequalities require targeted intervention in order to reduce smoking prevalence overall. Funding Not applicable.