Introduction:
Over the past two decades, there has been a gradual decline in smoking rates among adults in Poland. According to Statistics Poland survey conducted in years 2019, the prevalence of current smokers among adults aged over 15 years of both sexes was 20%, compared to 35% in 1996. The decline varies depending on education from 14 to 24 percentage points.

Material and Methods:
The study presents results of surveys from Statistics Poland in the years 1996, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2020. The surveys were carried out by Eurostat recommendations (European (EHIS). Data on current smokers (daily and occasional smokers) in the adult population (aged 15 and over) by education and gender were included in the analysis. The survey carried out in 2020 for the first time includes heated tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Results:
In the years 1996-2019, a decrease (from 14 to 24 pp) in the percentage of daily smokers of both sexes was observed in all education groups: university - from 27% to 12%, secondary - from 35% to 20%, vocational - from 50% to 26%, primary and lower – from 29% to 15%. A decrease in the percentage of current smokers in 2009-2019 is also observed in all education groups depending on gender (men 10-13 pp, women 4-10 pp). The survey carried out in 2020 that includes heated tobacco shows an increase in the proportion of daily smokers with a university degree in both sexes.

Conclusions:
The decreasing trend in the frequency of smoking traditional cigarettes observed in years 1996-2019 was stopped after the introduction of heated tobacco and e-cigarettes on the Polish market, which is visible in the 2020 study. The percentage of regular smokers with higher education increased compared to 2019, which may be related to the message promoted by tobacco industries about the less harmfulness of smoking new tobacco products.