The proportion of people who use tobacco and nicotine products has risen in the Czech Republic in recent years, according to the results of the government’s annual report on tobacco for 2024, presented at a press conference yesterday by Pavla Chomynova, head of the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addictions.
Last year, 27% of people used nicotine products daily, while in 2023 it was 23%. Smoking of conventional cigarettes is declining, while e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine sachets are becoming more popular. The situation was discussed yesterday by the government’s Council for the Coordination of Addiction Policy.
“In the last ten to twelve years, we have seen two trends,” Chomynova told CTK. “One is a decline in smoking rates of conventional tobacco products – that is, cigarettes, cigars, pipes – and the other is an increase in alternative products, especially e-cigarettes. The changes are occurring most often in the youngest age group, from 15 to 24, where we are seeing the biggest decline in smoking rates and the biggest increase in the use of alternative products.”
While in 2013, 31% of people used tobacco and nicotine products at all, and 23% daily, last year these figures were 35% and 27%, respectively.
A quarter of young people aged 15 to 24 have lit up a cigarette in the last month, and almost 1 in 10 do so on a daily basis. The highest proportion of conventional cigarette smokers is among people aged 55 to 65 (34% of them smoke, and 30% smoke daily). E-cigarettes are used by 17% of young people aged between 15 and 24, and 4% use them daily. The highest rates of e-cigarette use are among people aged 20 to 24. A fifth of this age group use them, nearly 7% every day.
In the Czech Republic, tobacco and nicotine products can be purchased from the age of 18. However, according to last year’s ESPAD school study, 7 out of 10 16-year-olds said they could easily obtain cigarettes. According to Chomynova, the availability of products in the Czech Republic is high and the range of products is expanding. Attractive packaging and flavours, advertising, and influencer recommendations are also raising interest among young people.
Smoking is responsible for about a fifth of all deaths in the Czech Republic. Between 16,000 and 18,000 people a year die from smoking-related diseases, mainly of the heart, blood vessels and respiratory system, as well as cancer. Between 6,000 and 7,000 lung cancer patients are diagnosed each year. Almost two-thirds of cases are detected at a late stage. According to the findings, smokers have a 10-14 years shorter life expectancy than non-smokers.
The state loses up to CZK 170 billion a year in deaths, morbidity, reduced productivity and treatment costs. Last year, CZK 54 billion were collected in excise tax from tobacco and nicotine products.
