The growing health scourge of smoking in developing countries

In 2019, the world population is 7.7 billion, of which about 1.1 billion are smokers, most of them in developing countries. However, according to a study published by the WHO[1] (World Health Organization), 80% of these are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.

While today 7.1 million people die each year due to direct or indirect tobacco consumption, the same organization is sounding the alarm about the high probability that this figure will reach 8 million deaths per year by 2030.

And for good reason, the number of smokers in developing countries has continued to increase over the years. This trend is particularly true among young populations. For example, there are four times as many adolescent smokers in these regions of the world than in the United Kingdom.

The development of the tobacco epidemic according to the categories of countries: poor countries and rich countries is currently following an opposite evolution. Thus, Between 1986 and 2016, Europe reduced its tobacco consumption by 33%, and the United States by 44%, while the Middle East and Africa respectively saw increases of 65% and 52%.[2].

Between By 2005 and 2030, smoking is estimated to have caused 40 million deaths in developed countries, and it will reach 135 million in developing countries., more than three times more.

Indeed, in these regions, the number of deaths and illnesses will increase considerably in the coming years, also representing increasingly heavy financial costs to be borne by countries with often fragile public finances.

Tobacco spending represents significant amounts for families, considerably reducing their purchasing power and thus increasing their food insecurity. Thus, it is considered that in Indonesia, the amounts spent on tobacco by the poorest smokers are 14 times greater than those for meat, seven times those for education and eleven times those for health. It is estimated that tobacco can represent up to 40% of the budget for poor households, thus mechanically reducing the resources available for food, education or children's health.[3].

©Generation Without Tobacco