Rabat – American platform Wisevoter has recently released a study showing the smoking rate by country in 2023, where Morocco ranks 100th worldwide, or 14.5%.
Despite global initiatives to raise awareness about smoking prevention in several countries, the survey, which encompassed 158 countries and territories, found that the average smoking rate globally remains significantly high.
According to Wisevoter, the average smoking prevalence rate worldwide is 20.1%, meaning more than one in five people smoke. For Wisevoter, this is an extremely high figure considering the negative impacts of tobacco use, which is still a major issue for public health worldwide.
Significant regional differences, however, remain hidden by this worldwide average and can be attributed to the interaction of a variety of cultural, economic, and regulatory factors. Smoking rates are also influenced by other factors including tobacco production and social acceptance.
Certain countries are famous for having alarmingly high rates of smoking. With a smoking rate of 48.5% worldwide, Nauru, an island state in Micronesia and part of Oceania, topped the podium. Almost half of its population, which counts 13,000, smokes.
With 44.1%, Myanmar comes in second, while Serbia is next with 39.80%. The remaining nations with the highest smoking rates are Papua New Guinea (39.3%), East Timor (39.2%), Bulgaria (39%), Lebanon (38.2%), Indonesia (37.6%), Latvia (37%), and Croatia (36.9%).
Countries with high smoking rates face the challenge of combating tobacco addiction and its negative impact on people’s health, Wisevoter reported.
On the other hand, countries with the lowest smoking rate are located in Africa. These include Ghana 3.5%, with the lowest smoking rate followed by Nigeria (3.7%). Non-African countries with a low smoking rate include Panama (5%), Ethiopia (5.1%), and Turkmenistan (5.5%).
According to Wisevoter, “tobacco control measures play a pivotal role in reducing smoking rates globally.” Among the actions taken to reduce smoking rates by various countries are restrictions on tobacco advertising, higher taxation of tobacco products, graphic warnings on cigarette packs, and laws prohibiting smoking in public places.
On the African continent, cigarette taxes are one of the authorities’ favorite penalities, as they are also a major source of tax revenue. These taxes tend to significantly increase the cost of cigarettes, making them more or less inaccessible to certain segments of the population.
Despite these measures, some African countries possess the highest smoking rates. These are Madagascar, which recorded a smoking rate of 27.8% worldwide, coming ahead of Tunisia (24.50%), Egypt (24.3%), Lesotho (24.30%), and Algeria (21%).
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