In Egypt, a new observatory to fight the tobacco pandemic

In late December 2020, the Egyptian Association Against Smoking, Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases set up a tobacco control observatory to monitor potential regulatory violations by tobacco manufacturers.[1].

The first observatory in Egypt and the Middle East, it will seek in particular to prevent any form of direct or indirect advertising in favor of tobacco products, and will ensure that the social responsibility strategies implemented by companies are blocked. Finally, behind the creation of the observatory lies a major health issue: smoking, both active and passive, is responsible for the death of 171,000 Egyptians each year.

Smoking in Egypt, an “essentially male phenomenon”

As the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics recalls, smoking, with 11.1 million smokers in Egypt, is a " essentially male phenomenon[2] ". Thus, in 2018, if Egypt recorded a rate of 17.2% of smokers in its population, the smoking prevalence reached 34.2% among men, against only 0.2% among women. Smoking in Egypt is also a social marker: 28% of people with a literacy certificate are smokers. On the other hand, this rate drops by half for higher education graduates.

A major factor in impoverishment

Beyond primarily affecting the underprivileged classes, smoking represents a brake on economic development. According to the Agency's figures, an Egyptian household with at least one smoker spends on average nearly 5,800 pounds per year, or 300 euros. In comparison, the average monthly income of an Egyptian in the same year was around 190 euros.[3]. These tobacco expenses represent resources not allocated to key items, such as education, food, or even medical care. A factor in endemic and multigenerational poverty, tobacco is considered a major obstacle to the sustainable development goals defined by the UN[4]From a broader perspective, the cumulative expenditure attributed to the consumption of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and drugs represents 25% of Egyptian household expenditure.

[2] الإحصاء: 17.3% من المصريين مدخنون.. و5798 جنيه متوسط الإنفاق عليه سنويا, Almasryalyoum, May 31, 2020, (accessed 01/05/2021)

[3] Net Journal, Average salary in Egypt, (accessed 01/05/2021)

[4] WHO, Tobacco control and the Sustainable Development Goals, (accessed 01/05/2021)