Tobacco smoking rate is one of the highest in Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, August 6
A new study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that Georgia is on the list of countries where the number of smokers is one of the highest in the world.
The Report on Global Tobacco Epidemic 2019 reads that in Georgia, 33% of the population is smoking. Out of them 57% are men and in adolescents of 13-15 years amounted to 12.6%.
According to the WHO, smoking causes the deaths of 11,400 people in Georgia every year.
However, the report identifies Georgia as among the three most successful countries with the highest level of achievement in terms of the WHO recommendations issued last year.
The organization underlines that Georgia has succeeded in monitoring tobacco use, has successfully run anti-smoking campaigns in the media, and has introduced warnings on packaging.
The WHO says by the end of 2018, 10 countries had adopted legislation mandating plain packaging of tobacco products and had issued regulations with implementation dates -Australia, France, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Belgium, Canada, Singapore, and Turkey have passed plain packaging regulations in 2019.
“Burkina Faso, Georgia, Israel, Romania, and Slovenia have passed laws but not regulations and do not yet have implementation dates…Georgia’s government decreed that the nine most effective pictorial warnings (selected by the Ministry of Health based on focus group results) developed in Australia and Canada must be used. Packages of smokeless tobacco products must provide written health warnings on 30% of the two biggest sides,” the report reads.
The report also mentioned Georgia’s tightened regulations on tobacco, which took effect in May 2018, according to which, smoking is prohibited in public areas and all kinds of buildings except houses, psychiatric clinics, penitentiary facilities, and casinos.
Smoking of cigars is only allowed in cigar-bars where no food products are served. Moreover, the smoking ban applies to electronic cigarettes and Hookah as well.
In Georgia, smoking is permitted in airports but only in designated areas. As for public transport, smoking is restricted there, but taxis and open boats are exceptions.
The WHO says that every year, more than 8 million people die from tobacco use. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
Most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, areas that are targets of intensive tobacco industry interference and marketing.
