20 September 2024
By Translator: Muhammad Fria Fachrama Sumitro. Editor: Laila Afifa, Tempo.co
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Smoking remains one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide, affecting millions of people. It is the leading cause of 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While efforts have been made to reduce tobacco use, some countries still have alarmingly high smoking rates. This article presents an overview of the ten countries with the highest smoking rates in the world, citing Visual Capitalist.
To note, Visual Capitalist used 2022 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding tobacco use among the population aged 15 and older.
Countries With the Highest Smoking Rates
1. Nauru
Nauru tops the list of the countries with the highest smoking rates. According to the findings of Visual Capitalist, the country’s smoking rate stands at 48%. World Population Review adds that women in Nauru smoke more than men.
2. Myanmar
Myanmar has relatively high smoking rates, with about 44% of adults smoking. The United Nations Development Program adds that tobacco use in Myanmar claims the lives of about 64,000 citizens each year.
3. Kiribati
Third on the list is Kiribati, a country in Oceania. Tobacco use remains an epidemic in the country. About 40% of adults smoke.
4. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is another Oceania country with the highest smoking rates in the world. With 40% adult smoking prevalence, more than 9,200 people die from smoking in Papua New Guinea each year, according to the Tobacco Atlas.
5. Bulgaria
Visual Capitalist points out that the Balkan countries are witnessing a high trend of tobacco use, which also applies to Bulgaria. The country’s smoking rate is 40%, which is alarmingly high as tobacco use has claimed over 22,700 lives per year in Bulgaria, citing Tobacco Atlas.
6. Serbia
In Serbia, approximately 40% of the adult population smokes, one of the highest rates in the world. Each year, over 26,600 deaths are attributed to tobacco use in Serbia.
7. Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste has one of the highest smoking rates in the world. With a smoking rate of 39%, the Southeast Asian country has a high prevalence of tobacco use, especially cigarettes, among both adults and youth.
8. Indonesia
Following Timor-Leste is Indonesia with a smoking rate of 38%. Not to mention, according to Tobacco Atlas, Indonesia is one of the countries with high youth smoking prevalence, along with Bulgaria and Chile.
To mitigate the smoking trend among the population, the Indonesian government imposed a tax in 2020, as quoted by Statista.
9. Croatia
Croatia has a smoking rate of about 37%. Smoking habit has claimed around 10,600 lives in the country every year, according to Tobacco Atlas.
10. Solomon Islands
Rounding out the list, the Solomon Islands has a smoking rate of about 37%. The number of daily smokers in the Oceania country is as high as 104,841, according to the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction.
While these countries face challenges in combating the prevalence of smoking, others stand out as the healthiest countries in the world. Life expectancy in these countries is high, and governments can provide citizens with healthy lifestyles and easy access to health services.