Preventable deaths from smoking still high in Greece

Greece could have prevented almost 170,000 deaths between 2000 and 2019 if it had followed Sweden’s example in combating smoking, according to the findings of the report Saving Lives Like Sweden, signed by leading experts in smoking harm reduction from around the world. 

Despite the fact that programs for quitting smoking have been in place for decades, 1.3 billion people still smoke. Tobacco kills about half of its users; 8 million people die each year from smoking-related diseases worldwide, with 24,407 dying in Greece. Overall, more than 200 million years of life are lost. 

The global target is to reduce smoking prevalence to less than 5% by 2040. Sweden accomplished this 17 years earlier.

In Greece, 42% of the population (46% men and 38% women) are smokers, 17% of the population have tried e-cigarettes but 2% are regular users, and 9% have tried tobacco heating devices but 2% are regular users.