Poles still smoking more than EU average
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
30.05.2015 09:08
In 2014, one third of Polish men and one quarter of Polish women were smokers of cigarettes and other tobacco products, a new report from EU pollsters Eurobarometer reveals.
Photo: pixabay.com
The data shows that 28 percent of all Poles smoke, down from 32 percent in 2012, while overall EU average went down from 28 to 26 percent over the same period.
In the EU, the largest drop in the number of smokers occurred in the 15-24 age bracket, by four percetage points from 29 to 25 percent.
The difference in the number of smokers between member states also varies, with the lowest percentages found in Sweden and Finland – 11 and 19 percent respectively – while Greece and Bulgaria have the highest percentages of smokers in the EU, with 38 and 35 percent respectively.
While the average EU smoker gets trough 14.2 cigarettes daily, Poles by comparison smoke 15.6 cigarettes, with Austrians topping the list with an average 19.8 daily.
The data comes ahead of ‘World No Tobacco Day’ on 31 May.
“Tobacco consumption remains the largest avoidable health risk in the European Union, and it is responsible for 700,000 deaths each year. Around 50 percent of smokers die prematurely, resulting in the loss of an average of 14 years of life,” the Eurobarometer summary states. (jb)
Source: PAP/EC
Read more:
Eurobarometer summary [PDF]
Poland factsheet [PDF]