Here’s Where Cigarette Smoking Rates Are Heading In The Wrong Direction

Across America and in most countries around the world, there are significantly fewer people lighting up cigarettes than there were in previous generations. But while the smoking rate is declining almost everywhere else, Germany is experiencing the opposite trend.

Digging into the data

The German Health Ministry recently released statistics that show the current trajectory, and the World Health Organization’s Rudiger Krech said that the results were surprising.

He explained: “We’re so baffled around this. In so many areas of public health and health systems, Germany is performing very well. Here, it is an outlier.”

So, how bad is it getting? In July, more than one-third of Germans said they were smokers. That’s up from just over one-fourth who said that in March 2020.

Among teens, the increase is even more alarming. Between 2021 and 2022, the percentage of 14-17 year olds who smoked nearly doubled from 8.7% to 15.9%.

Looking for causes

Now that Germany is aware of the issue, it’s important to start looking for the root factors that can be addressed to help bring the smoking rate back down.

There appear to be three likely culprits contributing to the uptick:

• Cigarette taxes are lower in Germany than in some other European countries.
• There’s less stigma about smoking and cigarettes are more readily available.
• COVID-19 lockdowns gave people more freedom to smoke at home.

The pandemic caused smoking rates to temporarily rise elsewhere, including in the United States. But recent surveys show that the U.S. rate has moderated and even dipped below pre-pandemic levels.

In Germany, however, cigarette machines are still a common sight and a pack can cost less than half of what one costs in the U.S. Until that changes, the country is likely to remain stuck with this problem.

Chris Agee September 2nd, 2023

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