American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest smoking rate of any racial or ethnic group. A recent study also found American Indian and Alaska Native men and women have a higher percentage of smoking-related deaths from heart disease and stroke than white men and women.
Non-Hispanic Whites (15%) and non-Hispanic Blacks (14.6%) have lower yet still substantial smoking rates, followed by Hispanics (9.8%) and non-Hispanic Asians (7.1%).
Certain countries stand out for their alarmingly high smoking rates. Nauru takes the lead with a staggering 48.50% of its population engaging in smoking habits. Myanmar, Serbia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor also face high smoking rates, exceeding 35%.
Analyses conducted by ethnicity and gender revealed that Vietnamese men had the highest prevalence of current smoking (29.5%). Ethnicity was significantly associated with current smoking among women (χ2=28.78, 4 df; p<0.001), with Vietnamese women having the lowest prevalence (0.6%).
Daily smoking rates in Australia are around the lowest among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries – 11.2% for Australians aged 15 and over in 2019 (AIHW 2020, Table 2.7) 16.1% in 2021 (or nearest year) for OECD countries (OECD 2022).
"It's not that Japanese love smoking so much," he says, "it's that tobacco has been a pillar of Japanese national policy." It's no accident that the national headquarters of Japan Tobacco, the world's third-largest tobacco company, is located near the seat of government in Tokyo.
On the other hand, roughly a quarter of the countries have some of the lowest percentages of daily smokers. These are eleven nations, led by Iceland at the bottom with 7.2% of people smoking daily and Sweden at the top with 9.5%.
While lung tissue cells do regenerate, there's no way a smoker can return to having the lungs of a non-smoker. At best, they will carry a few scars from their time smoking, and at worst, they're stuck with certain breathing difficulties for the rest of their lives.
More people are smoking in poorer communities. It is easy to blame people in poverty for making bad choices. But it's more complicated than that. Tobacco companies target these communities to encourage the habit, and the stresses of living in poverty and sometimes hopelessness also cause people to turn to cigarettes.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people smoke more than other Australians and are at higher risk of serious disease and death.
China smoking rate for 2020 was 25.60%, a 0.1% decline from 2019. China smoking rate for 2019 was 25.70%, a 0% increase from 2018. China smoking rate for 2018 was 25.70%, a 0.2% decline from 2015. China smoking rate for 2015 was 25.90%, a 0.3% decline from 2010.
Adults 18–25 and 26–44 years of age had the highest prevalence estimates for current smoking, 24.6% and 27.3%, respectively. The prevalence of smoking then declined with age.
Post Malone has spilled the tea in a new interview about the depth of his infamous smoking habit. “On a really terrible day — there's a very fine line between a terrible day and a good day… 40 to 45,” he told Full Send about how many cigarettes he tends to average per day.
Nearly every 4th adult in the world smokes tobacco. More than one-third (37%) of men in the world do, but just over 8% of women.
The genetic sequences identified in healthy older smokers may have a protective effect, which is why they have survived despite the significant ill effects of their habit.
Background: Heavy smokers (those who smoke greater than or equal to 25 or more cigarettes a day) are a subgroup who place themselves and others at risk for harmful health consequences and also are those least likely to achieve cessation.
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
Smoking rates around the world. Overall, the highest smoking rates are found in Southeast Asia and the Balkan region of Europe. Western European countries and the Americas tend to have lower smoking rates, However, this is not always guaranteed, as Chile turns out to have one of the highest smoking rates in the world.
France is one of the countries that has shown a decrease in smoking prevalence, yet their smoking prevalence is still much higher at 30% when compared to other developed countries such as the United States at 16%.
Current smokers in Europe 2020, by country
The share of individuals who currently smoke cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or a pipe in Greece was around 42 percent in 2020, which makes the Mediterranean country have the highest proportion of smokers in the EU.
Smoking while walking is banned throughout Japan, and there are many places where simply smoking outside is banned as well.
In Chinese culture, smoking is connected to masculine identity as a social activity that is practiced among men to promote feelings of acceptance and brotherhood, which explains why more Chinese male doctors smoke than females.
As part of revamping its laws relating to sex crimes, Japan has raised the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 years. The limit had remained unchanged for over a century and faced flak for being one of the lowest in the world.