Rate of daily smokers in selected European countries in 2021

As of 2021, Bulgaria had the highest share of adults who smoked daily in Europe, at almost 30 percent. In Turkey there were also a high prevalence of daily smokers reported at 28 percent. On the other hand, smoking is less popular in Nordic countries, with Sweden, Norway, and Iceland have fewer than ten percent of their populations smoking daily.

Attempts to quit smoking

In a European survey addressed to smokers in 2020, Bulgaria and Romania had the largest share of smokers who reported never attempting to quit smoking, at around three-quarters. Meanwhile, roughly eighty percent of smokers in the United Kingdom attempted to quit smoking in the past. In a separate survey, many smokers in Europe were aware of the cancer risks of smoking and had attempted to cut down on the habit as a result. Overall, young people across Europe were less likely to quit smoking, with 64 percent of those aged 15 to 24 reporting never attempting to quit.

Smoking among youth

Roughly a third of school students in Lithuania had tried smoking cigarettes by the age of 13, out of whom 3.5 percent were daily smokers. Among a slightly higher age group, by the age of 16 years, Slovakia held the highest share of youth trying cigarettes in their lifetime at 58 percent, with 29 percent having smoked a cigarette within the past month. In almost every European country, more than half of school students surveyed said it easy to obtain cigarettes, with Denmark coming at the top of the list with 79 percent of its students.

Nevertheless, smoking has generally declined among European youths over the past decades; down from 26 percent of 16 year olds smoking in 1999 to 10 percent by 2019.