Jordan's Smoking Time Bomb

In Jordan, doctors are concerned about a sharp increase in tobacco consumption since the start of restrictions due to the Covid-19 epidemic. This is especially true since the country already had a particularly alarming smoking situation.[1].

According to a survey conducted by the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan in April 2020, 52% of respondents reported smoking more since the start of the pandemic. In 2008, the government banned smoking in public and communal spaces. With the arrival of the pandemic, Jordan extended this ban to all enclosed spaces. However, the country seems to be struggling to enforce this ban. According to France 24, a member of parliament was photographed smoking in the middle of a parliamentary session, next to a ban sign.

A worrying health situation

This situation is partly explained by the very strong normalization of tobacco in the country. According to a government study carried out in 2019 with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), the proportion of smokers exceeds 80% among men over 18, with an average consumption of 23 cigarettes per day, or more than a pack per day.[2]With these figures, Jordan has the highest smoking rate in the world, ahead of Indonesia, yet known as the “Disneyland of the tobacco industry”[3]. Jordan's smoking prevalence comes at a high price: one in eight deaths is attributable to tobacco use, compared to one in ten worldwide. This figure is an average for both sexes, and is likely to be much higher for the male population. Furthermore, the devastating health effects of smoking will be felt mainly from 2030 onwards, accompanied by an explosion of non-communicable diseases.

Heavy interference from the tobacco industry

Jordan’s health situation is explained by the influence of the tobacco industry on public authorities. According to the general index on tobacco industry interference, developed by Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products (STOP), Jordan is the second country most affected by tobacco industry interference in public policies, after Japan. Ensuring public policies independent of the influence of the tobacco industry is nevertheless one of the fundamental and binding principles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which insists that “there is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the tobacco industry and the interests of public health policy.”[4].

[1] France 24, Health crisis as smoking champions Jordan light up in lockdown, 04/30/2021, (accessed 05/03/2021)

[2] The Guardian, Jordan smoking rates highest in world amid claims of big tobacco interference, 06/23/2020, (accessed 05/03/2021)

[3] Webster PC. Indonesia: the tobacco industry's "Disneyland". CMAJ. 2013;185(2):E97-E98. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-4342

[4] WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (CCLAT)