Smoking in Belarus

Current smoking prevalence is in decline in the general population in Belarus. The overall prevalence has reduced from 36% in 2000 to 27% in 2015, with a projected further decline to 22% by 2025. The decline is seen in both sexes, but most noticeably for men, where the prevalence has dropped from 65% in 2000 to 47.5% in 2015, and is projected to decrease further to 39% by 2025. The decline for women over the same period has been from 12% in 2000 to 9% in 2015, with a projected decrease to 8% by 2025. The WHO published prevalence trend estimates in tobacco smoking, as shown here, in their 2018 2nd edition report, which show slightly different smoking prevalence to the WHO country profiles. Data for the estimates are not age standardised, and were obtained from WHO databases. The trend lines are projections, not predictions, of future attainment. A projection indicates a likely endpoint if the country maintains its tobacco control efforts at the same level that it has implemented them to date. Therefore the impact of recent interventions could alter the expected endpoint shown in the projection. While the methods of estimation used in the first and second editions of the WHO report are the same, the volume of data available for the second edition is larger i.e. 200 more national surveys. The results presented are therefore more robust.