The Health Survey for England is a series of annual surveys designed to measure health and health-related behaviours in adults and children living in private households in England. The survey was commissioned originally by the Department of Health and, from April 2005 by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. Since 1994, the survey has been carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and the Department of Epidemiology at University College Medical School.
The 2007 Health Survey for England focuses on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on key aspects of lifestyle - smoking, drinking, eating and physical activity. Both adults and children were asked about their views on what constitutes healthy behaviour, their knowledge of government recommendations and the factors that may encourage or discourage healthy behaviour.
A secondary focus was the impact of the smokefree legislation. The 2007 survey allowed an initial examination of the effect of the legislation by looking at adults' and children's smoking behaviour and their exposure to other people's smoke, pre and post 1 July 2007 (the date the legislation came into effect). As well as questions being asked, saliva samples were taken and tested for cotinine, an indicator of recent nicotine exposure.
Trend tables are also produced each year focusing on key changes in core topics and measurements over time.