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Estimates of Global and Regional Smoking Prevalence in 1995, by Age and Sex

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Jha, Prabhat, Ranson, M. Kent, Nguyen, Son N., Yach, Derek·2002·American Journal of Public Health
DOI 10.2105/ajph.92.6.1002PMC PMC1447501
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Abstract

Objectives. We calculated regional and sex- and age-specific smoking prevalence estimates worldwide in 1995. Methods. Sex-specific smoking prevalence data from studies in 139 countries and age distribution data from 7 studies were analyzed. Results. Globally, 29% of persons aged 15 years or older were regular smokers in 1995. Four fifths of the world's 1.1 billion smokers lived in low- or middle-income countries. East Asian countries accounted for a disproportionately high percentage (38%) of the world's smokers. Males accounted for four fifths of all smokers, and prevalence among males and females was highest among those aged 30 to 49 years (34%). Conclusions. Future decades will see dramatic increases in tobacco-attributable deaths in low- and middle-income regions. Although much of this excess mortality can be prevented if smokers stop smoking, quitting remains rare in low- and middle-income countries. (Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1002–1006)

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  • Previous analyses of smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden often were hindered by poor data availability, methodological limitations, or both.

    “Previous analyses of smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden often were hindered by poor data availability, methodological limitations, or both.25, 26, 27”

    From Smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Abstract says the 1997 WHO prevalence review relied heavily on older data, and the Discussion describes inconsistent smoking definitions and uncertain age-specific estimates. These passages support concerns about data and methods in smoking-prevalence analyses, but the paper does not establish that previous analyses of attributable disease burden were often hindered by those limitations. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Authors
Jha, P., Ranson, M. K., Nguyen, S. N., & Yach, D.
Affiliations
World Bank (US)
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Public Health
Publisher
American Public Health Association
Published
2002-06
Volume
92
Issue
6
Pages
1002-1006
ISSN
  • 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1541-0048
DOI
10.2105/ajph.92.6.1002
PMC
PMC1447501
OpenAlex
W2031880709
Cited by
316
References
1
Citations by year
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FWCI
6.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (submittedVersion)
Funders
World Bank Group
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
Keywords
smoking prevalence, tobacco use, sex differences in smoking, low- and middle-income countries, East Asia, smoking cessation, regional variation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Developing Countries, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Smoking, Global Health, Prevalence, Developed Countries

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