According to the World Health Organization, each year more than eight million people die from tobacco. More than seven million of these deaths are due to direct tobacco use and about 1.2 million are due to the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke.
The entity states that there are some 1.3 billion tobacco users in the world, and calls this practice the “tobacco epidemic”, one of the greatest threats to public health that the world has had to face.
In the specific case of Colombia, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MinSalud), one in eight people smoke, and more than 34,000 die each year from diseases attributable to tobacco use, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, COPD and lung cancer, in which the cost of the health system amounts to about 4.2 billion pesos a year.
According to WHO data, these are the five countries with the highest smoking rate in the world:
Kiribati has for some years had the highest smoking rate in the world. According to official surveys, on the island –with just over 100,000 inhabitants– more than a third of women smoke, and almost two thirds of men do.
When talking about Europe, Montenegro, located in the east of the Old Continent, takes first place in the count of the countries with the most smokers, with 46% of its population actively consuming this substance. Although smoking is prohibited by law in public spaces, it is still done without a problem in offices, restaurants and bars.
Greece is, according to the WHO, the third territory with the highest tobacco consumption in the world. In fact, more than half of Greek men have this habit, and more than 30% of the female population smoke regularly.
In this territory of Southeast Asia, smoking is very cheap, which encourages consumption that gives it fourth place worldwide. In fact, this is the country with the highest rate of male smokers, which amounts to 80%, although only 6% of women smoke.
The country ruled by Vladimir Putin has the fifth place with the most number of smokers in the world. Although smoking is illegal in offices and on public transportation, nearly 60% of men over the age of 15 smoke, and 23% of women use tobacco.
Likewise, the WHO includes in its list the three countries with the lowest consumption of this substance in the world, these positions are currently occupied by Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Eritrea and Panama.
The largest producer and consumer of this product in the world continues to be China, according to the entity.