20% are under 65 years of age

2023-04-27 18:11:58

The Spanish Society of Epidemiology has warned this Thursday that, although tobacco consumption has decreased in the younger age groups, each year 63,000 people die for causes attributable to their consumption, 21% of which, more than 13,000, are under 65 years of age.

This has been stated by the SEE Working Group on Tobacco at the European Conference on Tobacco or Health that is being held until this Friday in Madrid, where it has presented data on the main tobacco indicators in Spain.

According to the data extracted from the School Survey on Drug Use in Secondary School Students (Estudes), epidemiologists have recalled that, in 2020, two out of ten people in Spain smokedmore men (26%) than women (19%).

Although they smoke less than them, the introduction of women to smoking has led to an increase in mortality in the last 30 years, such that in 2018 they died 10,000 more than in 1990.

Consumption by age

By age, the group that smokes the most is the group between between 25 and 44 years (29%), followed by those between 45 and 64 years of age (27%); while only 9% of those over the age of 64 smoke, up to 19% of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 use tobacco, a 38% of people between the ages of 14 and 18 have ever smoked throughout their lives and 9% do so daily.

There are hardly any differences, on the contrary, if what is observed is the educational level of the smokers: a 23% have basic studies25% with secondary studies and 19% with higher studies.

In the last 15 years, the number of smokers older than 15 years has decreased in Spain and also daily consumption has fallen in young people between the ages of 14 and 18. However, deaths attributable to tobacco are close to 63,000 per yearof which 21% occur in people under 65.

Given this scenario, the SEE has launched a appeal to the population warning of the serious consequences that tobacco has on health, from various cancers to cardiovascular or respiratory diseases.

For this reason, it has urged update of the policies for its control, especially the strategies aimed at preventing the initiation and cessation of consumption, both of conventional tobacco and its new forms of presentation.