European Health Survey: Average number of years in which the person has smoked daily, according to sex and Autonomous Community. Average and standard deviation. Population aged 16 years old and over that smokes or has smoked daily for at least one year. Autonomous Community.

The share of daily smokers in Italy has diminished in the last decade, shifting from an average of 22.8 percent in 2010 to 19.6 percent in 2022. As of 2023, the highest percentage of smokers among Italians aged 14 years and older was found in Umbria, where roughly 22.4 people per 100 residents were smokers. Conversely, the region with the lowest share of individuals smoking was Trentino-South Tyrol, with around 14.4 percent.

Smoking habits In addition to the percentage decrease in daily smokers in Italy, smoking habits have also changed in terms of the number of cigarettes smoked per person. When it comes to the number of cigarettes smoked daily, a decrease in the percentage of people smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day could be observed from 2010 to 2022, as well as an increase in the percentage of people smoking up to five cigarettes a day.

Smokers’ profile Gender and age play an important role when looking at the probability of being a regular smoker. In 2022, the share of smokers in Italy was higher among males, which accounted for 23.8 percent of the male population, whereas only 15.6 percent of females were regular smokers. During the same year, the age group with the highest percentage of smokers was those between 25 and 44 years, with 26.7 percent. This percentage grew to 36.7 when considering just the population who stopped studying after lower secondary school.

Czechia had the highest prevalence of cannabis use among adults in Europe as of 2022, with 11.1 percent of their population consuming cannabis in the preceding twelve months. This was followed closely by Italy, with 10.8 percent of the population using cannabis.Student use of cannabis in Italy As of 2022, over 40 percent of male students aged 19 years were users of cannabis, while 35 percent of female students this aged were also users. Among 15-year-olds, around ten percent of both boys and girls this age used cannabis.Other drug use in the EU Cannabis is by far the most used drug across the population of the European Union, with almost 30 percent using at some point in their lifetime. This is followed by cocaine, which 5.4 percent have used in their life, and then MDMA with four percent of individuals having used.

In 2020, around 5.2 trillion cigarettes were consumed worldwide. This was a decrease from the total number of cigarettes consumed in previous years. The region with the highest number of cigarettes consumed worldwide, excluding China, is Europe. However, China alone consumed over double the number of cigarettes that Europe did in 2020.

Smoking continues to decrease around the world Overall, the prevalence of tobacco smoking has decreased around the world. In the year 2000, it was estimated that around 27 percent of the world population smoked, with this number decreasing to 17 percent by the year 2020. Every region around the world has seen a decrease in tobacco smoking, but some places have seen larger declines than others with South-East Asia seeing the largest change from 2000 to 2020. Men continue to smoke at much higher rates than women, although the prevalence of tobacco smoking among both men and women has declined over the past two decades. In 2020, around 29 percent of men and five percent of women worldwide smoked. In the year 2000 an astonishing 44 percent of men smoked tobacco.

Which countries smoke the most? As of 2019, the country with the highest number of smokers was China. As of that time, there were around 341 million people in China who smoked. However, given that China is the country with the largest population worldwide, it may not be surprising that it has the highest number of smokers. When looking at the percentage of the population that smokes, China is not even among the top 20 countries. The countries with the highest prevalence of smokers are Kiribati, Nauru, and Papa New Guinea. On both of the small Pacific Island countries of Kiribati and Nauru around 37 percent of the population smokes tobacco.

The price of cigarettes is substantially different across Europe. As of 2022, the most expensive EU country in which to purchase cigarettes was Ireland, with a pack of 20 cigarettes retailing at 13.43 euros, followed by France at 10.19 euros. Cigarette prices in Europe are driven by the respective taxes imposed within each of the member states and consist of a specific duty per 1,000 cigarettes and an ad valorem rate on the recommended retail.

Tobacco taxes

Variations in cigarette prices are often a result of the different tobacco taxes across European countries. For instance, in Finland where the price for a pack of cigarettes is relatively high, the tobacco tax makes up more than 70 percent of the price. When comparing cigarette prices to the share of individuals who currently smoke cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, or a pipe in European countries, a general trend is observable. Many of those countries with relatively high cigarette prices have comparably lower shares of smokers. Nonetheless, many other factors can influence smoking behavior, besides prices. For example, many people in a variety of European countries have stated that they smoked more cigarettes due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Cigarette consumption in Germany

In Germany, the most popular type of cigarettes in Germany are branded cigarettes, followed by fine-cut tobacco. The average price of cigarettes in Germany has continuously increased during the last half of a century. A particularly large increase was noticed between 2000 and 2005. The development of the average price of cigarettes and the tobacco tax in Germany are closely correlated. Pushing up the price of cigarettes has led to a decrease in the average consumption of (taxed) cigarettes in Germany. In 2000, an average of 382 million cigarettes were consumed per day. By contrast, an average of 197 million cigarettes were smoked per day in 2021.

In 2017, 18 percent of males aged 15 years and older living in Milan were cigarette smokers. Furthermore, smoker females with the same age accounted for 19 percent of Milan population. Smokers living in this city were more likely to smoke packed rather than hand-rolled cigarettes.   Perception of e-cigarette in Milan Milan inhabitants were skeptical about the use of e-cigarettes. Most of them had never tried and not willing to try e-cigarettes. Moreover, the percentage of smokers that tried e-cigarettes and was still using them was much lower than the share of smokers not using e-cigarettes anymore after a first try.

 The city of Milan Milan is the capital of Lombardy region and the leading financial center of the country as well as one of the most populated cities in Italy , coming second just after Rome. Also, Milan is the fourth European city with the highest gross domestic product.   

In 2017, smokers accounted for 19 percent of the population aged 15 years and older living in the Italian city Milan. This was a slight decrease compared to the previous years when the share of smokers living in this city oscillated between 20 and 21 percent. Milan is the capital city of Lombardy region and the second most populated city in Italy.

 Smokers by gender in Milan In general, smoking is more common among men than among women. The city of Milan makes an exception given that in 2017, the share of female smokers was slightly higher than the percentage of males. Nonetheless, regarding former smokers, the numbers were in line with the general trend.

E-cigarettes E-cigarettes were not very much common among Milan inhabitants. A survey conducted in the city of Milan in 2017 among smokers, revealed that 85 percent of respondents had never tried and were not willing to try e-cigarettes.

This statistic illustrates the share of people smoking cigarettes in the city of Milan in Italy in 2017, by cigarette type. According to the data, 68 percent of the respondents smoked both packed cigarettes, and only 29 percent smoked hand-rolled cigarettes. According to the same source, 29 percent of the population in Milan is a smoker.