7 Apr 2017

Kiribati tops smokers' stats

5:59 am on 7 April 2017

A new study shows that Kiribati has the highest rate of male smokers, with nearly 50 percent of men using tobacco daily.

Smoking

Smoking Photo: 123rf.com

The study found that the Danish territory of Greenland has the highest incidence of female smokers at 44 percent.

The findings, published by The Lancet, point to smoking rates worldwide declining but because of population growth there are now more smokers than ever.

China has most male smokers and the US most female smokers.

Globally, the daily smoking rates of men has dropped from 35 percent to 25 percent in the period 2000 to 2015.

Among teenage smokers, Iceland and New Zealand have seen the most significant drop.