Almost one in four people in Catalonia are smokers, uptick in 2022 for both men and women

Smokers in Catalonia went up in 2022 to 24.1% of Catalonia's population aged 15 and over – this is an uptick compared to 2021, the year the number of smokers hit its all-time low at 22.6%.

The data, published by Catalonia's health annual survey, also reveals that the figure has increased in both male and female genders. In total, 1.5 million Catalans smoke, while 6.9% are exposed to the smoke at home.

After three years in a row of decrease, the figure for men rose to 28.8%, while for women, it stood at 19.6%.

According to the survey, at least 1.1% of the Catalan population of 15 years or more smoked electronic cigarettes in 2022, while 11.8% had used them regularly or had tried them before. 

Medication

In total, 24,355 people have started a medication process to cease smoking between February and April in Catalonia, as the Catalan health department announced, as it expects that around 10,000 people in the territory die each year because of diseases related to tobacco consumption or to the exposure of smoke.

Since February this year, pharmacies linked to the Spanish national health system added a new medication against tobacco, the cytisine, which has been used medically to help with smoking cessation.