U.S. Smokers on Par with Worldwide Average

With increased bans on smoking in public venues in the United States, the likelihood of encountering someone puffing a Marlboro or Kool or Camel is diminishing. This may have led you to wonder how many smokers are still lighting up and puffing away in the U.S. population. A recent Gallup Poll answered that question.

The poll, based on telephone interviews with 1,012 U.S. adults conducted Aug 3rd through 5th, indicated that 24 out of 100 U.S. residents smoked at least one cigarette in the preceding week. The worldwide average is 22 out of 100 (22%).

The U.S. average hovered around 40% in the 1970s and 80s and did not drop to under 25% till the mid-90s.

While the percentage has dropped in the past 30 years, the current rate is still far off the goal of decreasing the number of smokers in the U.S. population to less than 12% by the year 2010, an objective stated by the U.S. Government's Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile for 2007, the smokers' capital of the world with the highest reported rate is Cuba, where 40 of 100 residents light 'em up. Also in the top ten are Kuwait (37%), Chile (37%), Russia (37%), Belarus (37%), Bangladesh (37%), Estonia, Latvia, Azerbaijan, and Indonesia (all at 36%). China had a rate of 33%.

The country where you are least likely to run into a smoker is Nigeria, where only 6 out of 100 residents say they smoke. Other top-10 smoker-devoid countries are El Salvador and Ghana (8%), Afghanistan and Ethiopia (9%), Peru, Nicaragua, and Togo (10%), and Sri Lanka and Ecuador (11%).

The average Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the top-10 countries is $11,000. In contrast, the average per capita GDP for the bottom-10 countries is $3100 (for comparison, the U.S per capita GDP is $43,444). The poll results point to the trend that smoking is more prevalent in more affluent countries though there are exceptions and inconsistencies.

Regionally, according to the poll, if you are thinking of a vacation away from smokers, note that the lowest median scores are found in South America and Mexico (15%), West Africa (14%), Central America (12%), and South Asia (12%). For non-smoking travel-shoppers, a good bet is Hong Kong, with the number of smokers in the population being 15 out of 100.

On the other hand, the regions with the highest reported rates are the former Soviet countries (29%), Central Europe (29%), and the European Union (28%).