While the prevalence of smoking is declining in economically developed countries, smoking rates are increasing in developing countries, particularly in South East Asia, Latin America and Africa.(27)
In general, smoking rates appear to increase with advancing socioeconomic development and increasing levels of disposable income. This has been acknowledged by a senior executive from Philip Morris, who said "We recognised early that ours is a global business and built markets around the world. Our future is particularly bright in developing areas, where income and population are growing".(28) Smoking rates subsequently decline with improvements in education and increasing anti-smoking efforts.(27)
In countries where smoking has been common among men prior to economic advancement, the initial change seen with advancing socioeconomic development and with growing competition in the cigarette market is greater demand for cigarettes. This is followed by increased uptake of smoking among women and children. Women in Asia are seen as a major growth market by the tobacco industry.(29) However, as educational levels and anti-smoking activities increase, per capita tobacco consumption and smoking rates decline, first in men and then in women.(27)
A comparison of prevalence of smoking is presented in Table 1.8 (below). These figures should be viewed with some caution, as data sets between countries may not be directly comparable, and are not available for the same year. Although supported by earlier consumption data, the figure given for Swedish males may be deceptively low, as it does not take into account the use of smokeless tobacco.(30)
Table 1.8: Adult smoking prevalence in selected countries by sex | |||
| Country | Latest year for which |
Men % |
Women % |
| Australia | 1995 |
27 |
23 |
| Bangladesh | 1984 |
70 |
20 |
| Belgium | 1993 |
31 |
19 |
| Canada | 1994 |
31 |
29 |
| China | 1986 |
61 |
7 |
| Denmark | 1993 |
37 |
37 |
| Finland | 1994 |
27 |
19 |
| France | 1993 |
40 |
27 |
| Greece | 1994 |
46 |
28 |
| Hong Kong | 1990 |
29 |
3 |
| India | 1985 |
61 |
7 |
| Indonesia | 1986 |
52 |
4 |
| Ireland | 1993 |
29 |
28 |
| Italy | 1994 |
38 |
26 |
| Japan | 1994 |
59 |
15 |
| Korea (Republic) | 1990 |
68 |
7 |
| Malaysia | 1986 |
40 |
7 |
| Netherlands | 1994 |
36 |
29 |
| New Zealand | 1992 |
24 |
22 |
| Norway | 1994 |
36 |
36 |
| Poland | 1993 |
51 |
29 |
| Portugal | 1994 |
38 |
15 |
| Russian Federation | 1993 |
67 |
30 |
| Singapore | 1995 |
32 |
3 |
| Spain | 1993 |
48 |
25 |
| Sweden | 1994 |
22 |
24 |
| Thailand | 1995 |
49 |
4 |
| United Kingdom | 1996 |
29 |
28 |
| United States | 1993 |
28 |
22 |
Source: Hill et al 6a, Lopez A 31, Office of National Statistics 32. | |||