Current consumption in Portugal and worldwide.

 
The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest threats to public health that the world faces today and is responsible for the death of 7 million people a year.
Europe has the highest prevalence of tobacco consumers in the world. Estimates suggest that about 29% of people over the age of 15 consume tobacco products, with a higher prevalence in men than in women.
 
The prevalence in men between 2000 and 2015 showed a decline in the consumption of tobacco in European countries, with an average decline of 1.5% per year.
In Portugal, data from the 2014 National Health Survey indicates that around 20% were smokers aged 15 and over. The prevalence of consumption was higher in men (27.8%) compared to women (13.2%). The 25-34 age group was the one with the highest prevalence of consumption (32%).

 

 

The harms of tobacco


In the '50s, tobacco was accepted in society without questioning its harmful effects. But in 1964, in the United States, an extensive US Department of Health and Human Services report was published regarding the health effects of tobacco use.

Besides nicotine, cigarettes contain over 4000 substances, several of them with toxic and irritating effects, such as carbon, monoxide, and acetone. More than 40 recognized carcinogens have been identified in cigarette smoke, such as benzene, benzopyrene, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, among others.