Which Country Smokes the Most?

Which Country Smokes the Most?

By Mary Kearl



The country with the greatest cigarette consumption -- 3,000 cigarettes per person in 2007 -- might surprise you. Hint: It's not the U.S., France or China. Read ahead to see how ten countries ranked, according to a 2007 survey conducted by ERC, a market-research company, as reported by 'The Economist.'


India, Rank #119

Despite this low rank, a 2005 study 'Tobacco Smoking in India: Prevalence, Quit-rates and Respiratory Morbidity' found that 28.5 percent of males and 2.1 percent of female participants smoked. Perhaps the overall low rate for the nation is explained by the discrepancy between male and female smoking rates.

Manan Vatsyayana, AFP / Getty Images

Britain, Rank #66

By far one of the European countries with the lowest smoking rates, Britain has seen a decline in smokers as well as cigarettes smoked over the last decade, according to the British government's Office for National Statistics. The office also reported that a majority of smokers reported that they were trying to quit.

Chris Young, AFP / Getty Images

France, Rank #61

At the end of 2007, France's landmark smoking ban brought an end to smoking in public places, extended to bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels and casinos. This might mean a drop in cigarette consumption and smoking-related deaths which the French Health Ministry reported as an annual 66,000 due to smoking and 5,000 from secondhand smoke.

Francois Lo Presti, AFP / Getty Images

Cuba, Rank #51

A smoking ban that was put in place in 2005 may be the reason why this country's smoking rate is relatively low. Smoking is now banned in most work places and it is now illegal to sell tobacco products close to schools.


Javier Galeano, AP

United States, Rank #41

While you'd expect there to be less smoking in the U.S., Americans still have a long ways to go to reduce cigarette consumption. According to the Centers for Disease Control 21 percent of Americans smoke. To combat this rate the American Lung Association (ALA) has issued a 'Smokefree Air Challenge' to state and federal legislators to enact smoke-free laws across the country by 2010. The ALA reports that 21 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico have met the challenge by passing smokefree air laws that protect almost all workers from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Paul Sakuma, AP

China, Rank # 27

This country of about 350 million smokers consumes a third of the world's tobacco. The state controls and generates profit from the tobacco industry which may explain why there is limited regulation. For example, China does not regulate sales to minors or misleading information on cigarette packaging, according to the American Cancer Society's 'Tobacco Control Country Profiles 2003.'

Teh Eng Koon, Getty Images

Japan, Rank #13

Once one of the highest populations of smokers, this country's smoking rate was found to be on the decline in 2007, according to a survey conducted in May 2007, as reported by the Associated Press. The survey found rates have steadily dropped in the last 10 years, but male rates may be dropping to a greater degree. Smoking in women actually increased from 2006 to 2007.

Koichi Kamoshida, Getty Images

Slovenia, Rank #3

While the average person smoked just over 2,500 cigarettes in 2007, this country may see a decline in smoking rates due to a law that took effect in August, which put a limit on where Slovenians can smoke indoors. Smoking in indoor public and work places is only allowed in areas where employees cannot be exposed to second-hand smoke. The legal age to purchase cigarettes was also raised from 15 to 18.


AFP / Getty Images

Ukraine, Rank #2

This country's cigarette habit may be representative of a trend common to the countries of the former Soviet Union. Research conducted by the University of Oxford and published as 'Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries 1950-2000,' found that 56 percent of male cancer deaths and 40 percent of all deaths are tobacco-related, compared with 47 percent and 45 percent, respectively, in the European Union (EU). The study also found that tobacco-related mortality may still be on the rise in the former Soviet Union, while it has stabilized or declined in the EU as a whole.


Sergei Supinsky, AFP / Getty Images