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Ammon News - A new report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveled that tobacco use rates are rising in six countries in the world, including (Jordan, Egypt and Oman), while continuing to decline in various parts of the world, reaching 1.25 billion adults who use tobacco.

The report ranked Jordan first country with the most tobacco use in the Eastern Mediterranean region, with a rate of 36.3%, followed by Lebanon with 34% and Egypt with 24.7%.

The report, which is titled “Trends prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2030,” the trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally. About 1 in 5 adults worldwide use tobacco, compared to 1 in 3 in 2000.

Six countries are still witnessing a rise in tobacco use; 3 of them are in the Eastern Mediterranean region, namely Jordan, Egypt, Oman, and the rest are Congo, Indonesia, and the Republic of Moldova, the report showed.

The rates of tobacco use in Jordan among people aged 15 years and over (according to the crude prevalence rate) in the latest statistics for the year 2022 reached an average of 36.3% for both sexes, with a maximum of 44.3% and a minimum of 28.3%, the report indicated.

On the same scale, the crude prevalence rate for the same year averaged 57.8% for males, and is expected to reach a maximum of 70%, and a minimum of 45.5%. As for females, the average reached 13.4%, while its maximum reached 16.8% and its minimum reached 9.9%.

The WHO estimated the number of tobacco users and smokers in Jordan in 2022 to be 2.774 million people (2.291 million males and 483,000 females).

The report expects the percentage of tobacco users in Jordan to rise by 37.1% in 2025, after it was 35.8% in 2020, while this percentage is likely to continue to rise in 2030 to 38.3%.

150 countries have succeeded in reducing tobacco use, while Brazil and the Netherlands are witnessing success after they implemented (MPOWER) tobacco control measures, as Brazil achieved a relative decrease of 35% since 2010, and the Netherlands is about to reach the 30% goal, according to the report.