Jordan. The health disaster of smoking.
June 25, 2020
Par: communication@cnct.fr
Dernière mise à jour: June 25, 2020
Temps de lecture: 3 minutes
A victim of the tobacco industry, Jordan has become the country with the highest smoking prevalence in the world. It is now estimated that eight out of ten adult men are users of tobacco and nicotine products, now exceeding the prevalence observed in Indonesia for the same category (67%), despite being a playground for the tobacco industry.
The problem of normalizing smoking
According to a 2019 national study, the average consumption for an adult smoker exceeds one pack of cigarettes per day (21.3)[1]. According to an article in the Guardian[2], Jordan, victim of a complete normalization of smoking, is struggling to enforce the restrictions in force, starting with the bans on smoking in certain public places or places for collective use (hospitals, offices, etc.).
This ubiquitous tobacco use doesn't just affect smokers. Children are the first to be affected by passive smoking, which is difficult to avoid. This situation is all the more problematic because children exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to develop lung and cardiovascular diseases, and are at greater risk of developing nicotine addiction and becoming smokers themselves.
Tobacco industry interference
The country's situation is explained by a particularly aggressive strategy on the part of cigarette manufacturers, delaying or blocking any attempt to legislate on smoking.
According to the General Tobacco Industry Interference Index, developed by Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products[3], Jordan is the second country most affected by tobacco interference in public policies, after Japan. The guidelines of Article 5.3[4] of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control affirms the irreconcilable nature of the interests of the tobacco industry and those of public health.
A health disaster to come
Today, one in eight deaths in Jordan is attributable to smoking, compared to one in ten worldwide, while on average, its cost is proportionally three times higher than in other countries. However, the health effects of smoking will not truly be felt until around 2030, and will most likely be accompanied by an explosion of non-communicable diseases (cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases) for which the country is not prepared. The fight against the tobacco and nicotine epidemic is therefore a central issue for Jordanian public health today and for the coming decades.
[1] World Bank Group, Overview of tobacco use, tobacco control legislation, and taxation”, 2019
[2] https://cnct.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Indice-mondiale-dinterf%C3%A9rence-de-lindustrie-du-tabac-2019-sommaire-ex%C3%A9cutif.pdf
The Guardian, “Big tobacco wants our youth's lungs': rise of smoking in Jordan”, June 23, 2020
[3] STOP, “How the tobacco industry is interfering in tobacco control worldwide,” 2019
[4] World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, full text. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42812/9242591017.pdf;jsessionid=E2B8A8A084713181ABEDB8597BCFD4B0?sequence=1
