The objective of the study was to obtain information on recent trends in smoking habits in socioeconomic subgroups (gender, age and educational level) in The Netherlands. The data were analysed from the Monitoring Project on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors yearly cross-sectional surveys that were performed between 1987 and 1991. Each year a random sample of men and women aged 20–59 years in three towns in The Netherlands was invited to participate in the study. The overall response rate was 50% for men and 57% for women. A total of over 36,000 subjects participated in the study. The age-standardized prevalence of current, former and never smoking was the outcome measure. Data on smoking habits were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. The age-standardized smoking prevalence between 1987 and 1991 fell from 41.4 to 38.9% in men (−0.5 percentage points per year and 95% Cl: −1.0 to −0.02) and from 42.0 to 38.2% in women (−0.8 percentage points per year and 95% Cl: −1.3 to −0.3). The prevalence of current smoking decreased in men with low education and in women with low and intermediate/high education. In the 1961–1970 birth cohort of men with intermediate/high education a relatively large increase of 2.8 percentage points (95% Cl: 1.0–4.5) per year was observed. The decrease In smoking prevalence observed between 1987 and 1991 was small compared to the period before 1987. Differences in the magnitude and direction of trends were observed between birth cohorts and educational levels. The results of the study emphasize the need for an approach that is targeted toward specific sociodemographic subgroups.