It is not clear whether the harm associated with smoking differs by socioeconomic status. This study tests the hypothesis that smoking confers a greater mortality risk for individuals in low socioeconomic groups, using a cohort of 18 479 adults drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Methods:- Additive hazards models were used to estimate the absolute smoking-related risk of death due to lung cancer or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Smoking was measured using a

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... uous index that incorporated the duration of smoking, intensity of smoking and the time since cessation. Attributable death rates were reported for different levels of education, occupational class, income and wealth.