Smoking in Kuwait
In Kuwait, tobacco smoking continues to present significant public health challenges. As of 2022, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older was 22.7%, with a notable gender disparity: 35.6% of males and 2.1% of females were smokers. This represents a slight increase from 2020 when male and female smoking prevalence rates were 33.9% and 2.3%, respectively. The total number of smokers as of 2022 was 775,144, compared to 736,502 in 2020, indicating a growing trend. The adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2022 was 37.3% with 58.9% among males and 15.1% among females. Smoking-related mortality remains a concern.12.83% of all deaths in 2021 was attributed to tobacco smoking, including 16.11% of male deaths and 4.25% of female deaths. Also, tobacco was responsible for 1,549 deaths in 2021, compared to earlier estimates. These figures underscore the ongoing public health implications of tobacco use in Kuwait and highlight the need for continued regulatory and preventive measures to mitigate the rising prevalence and consequential health impacts.
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July 29, 2023 by kuwaittimes.com
Easy access to vaping blamed for high smoking rates in Kuwait
According to the latest statistics of the Central Statistical Bureau in June 2023, prices of cigarettes and tobacco increased by 0.37 percent. Despite the hike, the smoking rate in Kuwait keeps on increasing, whether with regular cigarettes or alternatives. In 2021, Kuwait ranked first in the Gulf in smoking, as 39.9 percent of men and 3 percent of women in the country are smokers, according to the head of the healthy cities’ office at the health ministry Dr Amal Al-Yahya, indicating the latest statistics by the health ministry showed the annual cost of smoking in Kuwait reached KD 481 million.