Smoking in United Arab Emirates

Current smoking trends for the overall adult population in the United Arab Emirates show an increase from 2000 (26%) to 2015 (29%), with a projected increase to around 31% by 2025. For women, smoking prevalence has been declining gradually year by year, from a low start at 2% in 2000 to 1.2% in 2015, and is projected to be around 0.9% by 2025. The overall upwards trend has been driven by men's current smoking prevalence: 34% of men were current smokers in 2000, increasing to 38% in 2015 and a projection of a further increase to 41.5% by 2025. The WHO published prevalence trend estimates in tobacco smoking, as shown here, in their 2018 2nd edition report, which show slightly different smoking prevalence to the WHO country profiles. Data for the estimates were obtained from WHO databases. The trend lines are projections, not predictions, of future attainment. A projection indicates a likely endpoint if the country maintains its tobacco control efforts at the same level that it has implemented them to date. Therefore the impact of recent interventions could alter the expected endpoint shown in the projection. While the methods of estimation used in the first and second editions of the WHO report are the same, the volume of data available for the second edition is larger i.e. 200 more national surveys. The results presented are therefore more robust.