"Let's grow food, not tobacco"
•Protecting adolescents and youth from dangers is a top priority. The future of Jordan and its future generations is in the hands of the young.
• Tobacco use is one of the risk factors behind chronic diseases and deaths resulting from non- communicable diseases. Deaths attributed to non-communicable diseases amount to 75% .
• Smoking is a major cause of lung cancer. It is the most common cause of cancer death among men and women worldwide. In Jordan, lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer among males at a rate of 11% among all types of cancers. The most common cause of death was lung tumours in males at 22.4%.
• The number of cafes that offer smoking tobacco and charcoal hookahs, a health hazard and a waste time, has increased. The number of smokers and their percentage amongst both sexes have also increased, especially among males.
• The percentage of smokers in Jordan between the ages of (18-69 years) reached 41%. The current smokers of electronic cigarettes and vape in 2019 was 9.2%.
• 34.7% of current smokers started smoking before the age of 16; the average number of manufactured cigarettes consumed by smokers was 21 cigarettes per day.
• The average annual household expenditure on tobacco or cigarettes amounted to JD 540.3
• Jordan's imports of tobacco for the year 2021 amounted to JD 48,684,847 million approximately.
Jordan joins the world in observing the World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31st of each year. By commemorating World No Tobacco Day, the health risks associated with tobacco use are highlighted. Moreover, the call for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption is also highlighted. Tobacco use is the single most important cause of tobacco-attributable preventable morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tobacco currently kills one in ten adults throughout the world..
The ultimate goal of World No Tobacco Day is to contribute to protecting present and future generations from the devastating health consequences, as well as from the social, environmental and economic adversities of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
key facts of tobacco use in Jordan
• The number of cafes that offer hookah (waterpipe tobacco), various smokeless tobacco products and charcoal, a detriment to health and time, has increased. The number of licensed cafes within the Greater Amman Municipality exceeded 2938 cafe. Meanwhile, the number and percentage of smokers (whether cigarettes, hookahs, or any other form of tobacco) among both sexes has also increased, in particular among males. The percentage of smokers reached about 45% among men in the age group (15-49 years) at an average of more than 25 cigarettes (36.9%) a day.
• The percentage of smokers among women in the age group (15-49 years(1)) was 12%. The fact that there are smokers among children under the age of 15 years cannot be overlooked. (Note that the percentages of smokers of the age group 15-19 years was 17.2% among males and 5.4% among females.)
• The average annual household expenditure on tobacco or cigarettes amounted to JD 540.3(2) according to data of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2017-2018.
• As for Jordan's import of tobacco for the year 2021, tobacco imports and its substitutes amounted to 11,375,461,30 kg, with a total value of about JD 48,684,847 million(3). The number of establishments manufacturing tobacco products in Jordan was 29 establishments(4).
• Smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among men and women worldwide. In Jordan, it is the second most common type of cancer among males, at a rate of 11%. The most common cause of cancer morbidity and mortality was lung tumours among males at a rate of 22.4% (5).
• Results of the National Stepwise Survey (STEPs) 2019(6) to monitor risk factors attributable to non-communicable diseases, conducted by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, indicated the following facts:
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[1] 2017-18 Department of Statistics-Population and Family Health Survey 2 2017/18 Department of Statistics\ Income Survey &Household Expenditures
3https://jorinfo.dos.gov.jo/Databank/pxweb/ar/DOS_Database/START__03__0302/EXTRD_Y
4https://jorinfo.dos.gov.jo/Databank/pxweb/ar/DOS_Database/START__13/EST_CENSUS1/
6https://www.moh.gov.jo/ebv4.0/root_storage/ar/eb_list_page _steps _2019The national stepwise survey to monitor the risk factors associated with non-communicable diseases.
• The widespread of tobacco was significantly higher among males compared to females, reaching 65.3% of smokers of traditional tobacco (manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes, water-pipes/hookahs, pipes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco.) Percentage of users of modern products (electronic cigarettes and vape devices) was 15%, compared to 16.4% of women smokers of traditional tobacco and 4.2% users of modern products. All in all, smoking was much higher among the younger age group of both sexes (Fig.1).
Among the current smokers of traditional tobacco products, daily smoking was reported at 34.6% compared to 6.7% of non-daily smokers.
• On average, smoking traditional products among smokers in the age group (18-69 years) lasted for 17 years. The duration among smokers between the ages of 45-69 years was 35 years (Figure 2)
17 was the average age at which men started smoking while it was 24 for women. 34.7% of current smokers indicated that they had started smoking before the age of 16. The average number of manufactured cigarettes consumed by smokers was 21 cigarettes per day.
• With regard to exposure to second-hand tobacco and passive smoke, 80% of the participants reported that they had been exposed to passive smoke during the previous month. Participants in the survey said that passive smoking was very prevalent reaching 63% in homes, 37% in public transportation, 19% at the workplace, 14% in restaurants, 7% in government institutes, 6% in health care facilities, and 6% in universities and schools Figure 3
With regard to smoking cessation, about 45% of all current smokers who use traditional tobacco products had attempted to quit within the past 12 months; 28% of smokers who had been to see a doctor in the past 12 months had been advised by a healthcare professional to quit smoking, and 18% of the participants indicated that there were promotional offers/ campaigns for cigarettes.
• With regard to the cost of smoking, the average amount spent on 20 manufactured cigarettes was JD 1.85, and the average monthly expenditure on manufactured cigarettes was JD 60.3. The cost of 100 packs of manufactured cigarettes is equivalent to 5.9% of the per capita GDP. The average smoker's expenditure on hookah was JD 13 per month.
Universal Facts (7)
• Tobacco use is one of the greatest causes of early death that can be prevented worldwide. Tobacco claims the lives of more than 8 million deaths annually. More than 7 million of these mortalities are recorded among those who use it directly, while about 1.2 million deaths occur among non-smokers who, involuntarily, are exposed to smoke. Tobacco is the second largest risk factor for mortality in the world. Among all ages worldwide, tobacco accounted for 21.4% of deaths among males and 8.3% of deaths among females(8).
• At the global level, the widespread of tobacco among people aged 15 years and above dropped from 32.7% in 2000 to about 22.3% in 2020. Of this percentage, 36.7% were men and 7.8% were women worldwide. Estimates show a drop to 17.5(9) in 2021.
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7https://www.who.int/ar/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
8https://www.thelancet.com/pb-assets/Lancet/gbd/summaries/risks/tobacco-s...
9https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/343287/9789240032095-en...
• The percentage of smokers among young people in the age group (15-24 years) was 14.2%, and was higher among males than it was among females of this age group (23.3% and 4.4%, respectively).
• More than 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users globally live in low and middle-income countries, where the liability of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality is greatest. Tobacco use contributes to poverty as it diverts household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco. Tobacco costs the global economy amounts to $1.4 trillion annually.
• Tobacco use has a high economic cost, including the high health-care costs of treating tobacco related diseases, as well as the loss of lives due to tobacco-related mortality and morbidity. All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco.
• A record number of 349 million people living in 79 countries suffer from critical food insecurity. Many of these live in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco is cultivated in more than 124 countries as a cash crop using an estimated 3.2 million hectares of fertile land. More often, countries where tobacco is grown suffer from a negative economic impact due to the adverse health, environmental and social effects of tobacco cultivation. Tobacco cultivation exposes farmers and farm workers to ill health. Moreover, growing tobacco leads to an irreversible loss of precious environmental resources such as water sources, forests, plants and animal species(10).
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