Survey Shows Smoking Population Reached 1.1 Billion in 2019
According to three new studies published in The Lancet and The Lancet Public Health by the Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network, the number of smokers worldwide rose to 1.1 billion in 2019, with smoking causing 7.7 million deaths. The studies we
According to three new studies published by the Global Burden of Disease Collaboration in The Lancet and The Lancet Public Health, the number of smokers worldwide reached 1.1 billion in 2019, with smoking causing 7.7 million deaths. These studies were led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.<\/span><\/div>
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The studies used data from 3,625 nationally representative surveys to provide global estimates of smoking rates among men and women aged 15 and older in 204 countries, including the age of initiation, associated diseases, risks for current and former smokers, and the first analysis of global trends in chewing tobacco use.<\/span><\/div>
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The authors published their findings ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, calling for all countries to urgently adopt and implement a comprehensive package of evidence-based policies to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use and prevent smoking, especially among adolescents and young people.<\/span><\/div>
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“Smoking is a major risk factor threatening the health of people worldwide, yet tobacco control is severely lacking in many countries,” said Emmanuela Gakidou, a senior author at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, Washington, in a press release.<\/span><\/div>
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“The smoking rates among young people remain high in many countries, coupled with the expansion of new tobacco and nicotine products, highlighting the urgent need to double down on tobacco control. If a person has not become a regular smoker by age 25, they are unlikely to become one. This presents an important window of opportunity for interventions to prevent young people from starting to smoke and improve their health for the rest of their lives.”<\/span><\/div>
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Since 1990, the global smoking rate among men has decreased by 27.5%, and among women by 37.7%. However, the prevalence among men has significantly increased in 20 countries, and among women in 12 countries.<\/span><\/div>
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In half of the countries, the decline in prevalence has not kept pace with population growth, leading to an increase in the number of current smokers. The top 10 countries with the highest number of smokers in 2019 were China, India, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global smoking population. Currently, one-third of smokers (341 million) live in China.<\/span><\/div>
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The smoking rates among young people remain high in many countries, coupled with the expansion of new tobacco and nicotine products, highlighting the urgent need to double down on tobacco control.<\/span><\/div>
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In 2019, 7.4 trillion tobacco equivalents were consumed (including manufactured cigarettes, hand-rolled cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, pipes, hookah, and regional products such as bidis and kreteks), with a global daily consumption of 20.3 billion cigarette equivalents. The countries with the highest per capita consumption are mostly in Europe. Globally, one-third of male smokers and one-fifth of female smokers consume 20 or more cigarette equivalents daily.<\/span><\/div>
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In 2019, an estimated 155 million smokers aged 15 to 24 were present—equivalent to 20.1% of young men and 5.0% of young women worldwide.<\/span><\/div>
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Currently, two-thirds (65.5%) of all smokers started smoking at age 20, and 89% of smokers started at age 25.<\/span><\/div>
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In 2019, in 12 countries and regions, more than one-third of young people were current smokers, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, France, Chile, Turkey, and Greenland, as well as five Pacific islands.<\/span><\/div>
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Globally, from 1990 to 2019, the smoking rates among young men (-32.9%) and young women (-37.6%) have both declined. Progress varies by country, with 81 countries achieving significant declines in youth prevalence. More than half of the countries showed no change.<\/span><\/div>
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In many countries, the progress in reducing smoking rates has not kept pace with population growth, leading to a significant increase in young smokers. The largest absolute increases in young male smokers were seen in India, Egypt, and Indonesia. The largest increases in young female smokers were seen in Turkey, Jordan, and Zambia.<\/span><\/div>
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Globally, the average age of initiation for regular smoking is 19 years. The youngest average initiation age is observed in Europe and the Americas—Denmark has the lowest average initiation age (16.4). The longest average initiation ages are found in East Asia and South Asia, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, with Togo having the longest average initiation age (22.5 years).<\/span><\/div>
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In 2019, 273.9 million people used chewing tobacco, equivalent to an age-adjusted prevalence of 6.5% among men and nearly 3% among women aged 15 and older. Most of the chewing tobacco users in 2019 (228.2 million; 83.3%) lived in South Asia. India has the highest number of chewing tobacco users, with 185.8 million users, accounting for 68% of all chewing tobacco users globally. Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan also have high rates of chewing tobacco use.<\/span><\/div>
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In many countries, the progress in reducing smoking rates has not kept pace with population growth.<\/span><\/div>
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The authors of these studies expressed regret over the lack of progress in tobacco control among signatories of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).<\/span><\/div>
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The research shows that since 2005, the FCTC has been ratified by 182 parties, but as of 2018, only 62 countries had developed comprehensive smoke-free policies. 23 provided comprehensive smoking cessation support services; 91 had mandatory pictorial health warnings; 48 had comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; and 38 had recommended levels of tobacco taxation.<\/span><\/div>
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The authors noted that measures to reduce the affordability of cigarettes through taxation have also lagged behind.<\/span><\/div>
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Between 2008 and 2018, only 33% of low-income countries saw a decrease in cigarette affordability, while the corresponding figures for middle-income and high-income countries were 38% and 72%, respectively. Low-income and middle-income countries face the additional challenge of population growth expanding the smoking population. Nevertheless, only a low-income country like Madagascar has taxed tobacco at the rates recommended by the WHO.<\/span><\/div>
