Among adults (age 15+), 26.6% of the population smoke, with a significant difference between genders—50.5% of Chinese men and 2.1% of Chinese women smoke. Among youth (junior high school students, median age 14), 3.9% smoke (boys 5.8%; girls 1.8%). China has approximately 307.6 million smokers.
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.
The ban in shopping centres, department stores, supermarkets, banks and game arcades has been in place since July 1998. The overall daily smoking rate in Hong Kong is 11.8% (HK Department of Census and Statistics Household Thematic Survey 36) with 25% of males smoking whereas in China 63% of males smoke.
Consumption. 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).
Daily percentage of smokers among persons aged 15 and over
The countries with the fewest smokers are Sweden (9.3 per cent), Iceland (11.2 per cent), Finland (12.5 per cent), Norway (12.9 per cent) and Luxembourg (13.5 per cent).
As revealed by a survey conducted in 2019, almost 18 percent of the Japanese adult population were smokers. While the smoking rate in Japan has decreased slightly within the last decade, the habit remains predominantly prevalent among male adults.
In 2019, 29.7% or 34.9 million Russian adults aged fifteen and above smoked cigarettes (49% or 26 million men, and 14% or 9 million women). Tobacco use was reported to be higher among men than women.
While a high percentage of men in Japan have smoked throughout in the postwar years, the rate for women for many years hovered between 10 and 15%, followed there too by a decline in recent years to be floating currently a little below 10%.
Which Australians were more likely to smoke? The characteristics of adults who were most likely to be current daily smokers in 2021-22 were: Adults born in Australia were more likely to be current daily smokers than those born overseas (11.1% compared to 8.1%)
China and the United States, two of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, do not have a nationwide smoking ban covering all public indoor areas, while the remaining three members, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom, all have national laws prohibiting smoking in many indoor spaces.
Both France and the U.S. have cultural ties to cigarette smoking. However, in France, the association of smoking with national identity through cigarette marketing tactics and the birth of café culture in the 1960s are large reasons why high smoking rates persist.
As of 2015, 32% of French adults declare themselves to be regular smokers. In case of violation of tobacco laws, the smoker can face a fine of up to €450 and the owner of the venue up to €750. Plain packaging for cigarettes was introduced in 2017.
Smoke Free Places
Smoking is completely prohibited in at least 28 indoor public places, including medical facilities, restaurants, bars, and most public transportation. Designated smoking areas are permitted in other specified places, such as long-distance transport.
Overall, the self-reported price of cigarettes ranges from 0.70¥ RMB per pack to 100¥ RMB per pack. The median price paid per pack was highest in Shanghai (7.50¥), followed by Yinchuan (5.00¥), Changsha (4.40¥), Guangzhou (4.00¥), Beijing (4.00¥) and Shenyang (3.70¥).
Germany smoking rate for 2020 was 22.00%, a 0.5% decline from 2019. Germany smoking rate for 2019 was 22.50%, a 0% increase from 2018. Germany smoking rate for 2018 was 22.50%, a 2.4% decline from 2015.
1. Main points. In the UK, in 2021, 13.3% of people aged 18 years and over smoked cigarettes, which equates to around 6.6 million people in the population; this is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records started in 2011 based on our estimates from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
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.
Results. Cigarette smoking prevalence among Arab men is high– 51.3% in Syria, 39.7% in Palestine, and 42.1% in Lebanon; among women, prevalence is 8.4% in Syria, 10.9% in Jordan, and 24.3% Lebanon.
These measures were followed by an unprecedented decrease in smoking rates among adults: in 2 years, there were 1.6 million fewer smokers among the French adult population (prevalence of regular smoking rates dropped from 29.4% in 2016 to 25.4% in 2018) [8, 9].
Multiple surveys have estimated the smoking prevalence in South Korea. According to the 2017 report of the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 49.8% of Korean adult males and 4.2% of Korean adult females were found to be smokers in 2015 [3].
Currently, about half the world's male smokers live in 3 Asian countries: China, India, and Indonesia.
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.
Daily smokers of cigarettes. In 2019, 18.4 % of people aged 15 years and over in the EU were daily smokers. Among the EU Member States, the share of daily smokers ranged from 6.4 % in Sweden and 9.9 % in Finland to 23.6 % in Greece and 28.7 % in Bulgaria (see Table 1).