Smoking in Ethiopia

Current smoking prevalence has decreased only slightly for both men and women in Ethiopia according to WHO trend data. The overall prevalence of current smoking has remained at around 4.4% since 2000, and is projected to stay at around 4% until 2025. For men, smoking prevalence has remained at around 8% and is projected to remain at that level; similarly, women’ smoking prevalence was just over 0.5% in 2000, and is projected to decrease to just under 0.3% over the same period. 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 are not age standardised, and 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.