Smoking in Zambia

There has been a downwards trend in current smoking prevalence in the general population in Zambia. Smoking prevalence was 15.5% overall in 2000 and declined to under 12% in 2015, with a further drop to around 11% projected by 2025. The prevalence for men has decreased from 27% in 2000 to 22% in 2015, with a further decrease to 20% projected by 2025. Women’s prevalence was lower at 5% in 2000, dropping slightly to 3% in 2015, and is projected to decrease to around 2% 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 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.