The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that tobacco consumption in America rose from 28% in 2000 to 16.3% in 2020.
He said this in the Report on tobacco control for the Region of the Americas 2022, in which he also detailed that 96% of the population is protected by at least one anti-smoking measure, although electronic cigarettes remain a threat.
According to the document, presented in Brazil, tobacco consumption fell to 16.3% in 20 years and is expected to be 14.9% by 2025, with which the region would meet the goal of reducing it by 30%. set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for that date.
If we talk about nations, Chile is the country where adults consume the most tobacco (29.2%). They are followed by Argentina, the USA, Uruguay and Cuba. Panama is the one with the fewest smokers (5%)
In general terms, the proportion is 21.3% of men and 11.3% of women, "which reaffirms the need for the gender aspect to be strengthened in the Americas" in control strategies, the report deduces. quoted by the AFP news agency.
Among young people, Dominica registers the highest percentage of consumption, followed by Argentina, Mexico, Haiti and Guatemala. Teenagers in Canada, the US and Brazil smoke the least.
Twenty-six of the 35 countries in the region have fully implemented at least one of the six tobacco control measures recommended by the WHO since 2008. This means that 900 million people, or "96% of the region’s population, is protected against the harms of tobacco", 50% more than in 2007, the agency says.
However, Anselm Hennis, director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health of PAHO, indicated in a statement that "tobacco causes almost one million deaths annually in the region and is the only legal consumer product that kills up to half of those who consume it.
However, progress was uniform and, according to PAHO, "nine countries have not yet adopted any measures." They are Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti and Belize.
In addition, the document warns about electronic cigarettes, which pose “a threat to tobacco control,” as they become increasingly available. "The tobacco industry uses misleading claims to gain consumers and new markets," the text added.
Figures and data:
• 24 countries in the region implemented measures to protect against exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
• 22 highlighted the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages
• 10 enabled surveillance systems with recent data
• 6 provided comprehensive help to quit smoking and nine completely banned advertising for this substance.
• Only 3 countries (Argentina, Brazil and Chile) apply indirect taxes on cigarettes that represent 75% or more of their sales price.
• South America became the first subregion without tobacco smoke in America, that is, where smoking is prohibited in closed public and workplace places and on public transportation.
