What countries are major consumers of tobacco?
Though there is a higher demand for tobacco products in the more developing nations it is the world alone that drives the demand for tobacco. There are at least 5.5 trillion cigarettes that are produced all over the world. They are smoked by at least 1.1 billion people on a yearly basis. The smoking levels have seemed to decline in years through the developed nations and increased more in developing parts all over the world. A study done in 2000 surveyed regions around the world, Africa, united States, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.
Men in Africa smoked on an average of 22% and women 4%, United States men smoked 35% and women smoked 22%, Eastern Mediterranean men smoked 35% and women smoked 4%, Europe men smoked 46% and women smoked 26%, Southeast Asia men smoked 44% and women smoked 4% and in the Western Pacific men smoked 60% and women smoked 8%. These numbers were taken in 2000 and they have grown since then with these same regions where men smoke more than women.
In 2010 a more recent study was taken the projected number of smokers around the world were 7,151,500,000. China had 2,659,000,000 followed by the EU, India, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan. In more developed nations there is more awareness of the health effects when you smoke and many developing countries rely heavily on the anti smoking measures that are put in place. The have banned advertising and increased taxes. When there is a projected increase, China seems to be the country where the increase of smokers will come from. The share that China has in the world tobacco demand is around 37%.
India is the second country most likely to increase the number of smokers. They account for 25% of the cigarette smokers in the world. People in India though do consume tobacco in non-cigarette form but through hand rolled bidis and chewing tobacco. Latin America has increased the used of tobacco products from 1998 to
With 0.48 million tones which is just about half in Brazil. Brazil is the country where the increase is projected to happen for smokers in the Latin American continent.
There are countries out there that are trying to reduce the dependency of tobacco products in their country. Governments have tried increasing taxes and designing ad campaigns to show how dangerous tobacco smoking is. So far there isn't a solid decrease in any nation and the tobacco companies keep growing more and more each year. Price increase everywhere and in most recently in the United States where some cigarettes are over $ 10, a pack but that hasn't stopped smokers from getting what they need, it is after all supply and demand.