Tobacco smoking in Bolivia

In Bolivia, smoking is allowed but certain regulatory restrictions exist for tobacco products including cigarettes. Based on these regulatory frameworks, cigarette sales are allowed, and consumers are permitted to purchase them online. However, purchasing tobacco products from vending machines is banned. Furthermore, importation of cigarettes for commercial trade requires an appropriate license. The authorities also mandate health warnings on all cigarette packaging and enforce a minimum legal purchase age of 18 years. Legal restrictions also exist for smoking in public places, such as healthcare and educational facilities. Additionally, a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising is in effect. Cigarettes are subject to a specific excise tax rate of 19.96%, contributing to a total taxation rate of 31.46%.

The current prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older was estimated to be 12.2% in Bolivia as of 2024, with a significant gender disparity: 20.5% of adult males and 4.1% of adult females were current smokers. This represents a slight decrease from 2020 figures, which indicated a current smoking prevalence of 13.2% overall, 21.4% among adult males, and 5% among adult females. The total number of smokers was approximately 1 million individuals in Bolivia in 2024. For reference, the adult daily smoking prevalence in 2015 was 14.8%, with 21.9% among males and 9.1% among females.

In terms of smoking-related mortalities, data from 2021 indicate that smoking resulted in 2.55% of all deaths in Bolivia, including 3.32% of all deaths among males and 1.56% of all deaths among females. The total number of smoking-related deaths in 2021 was 3,090, including 2,256 male deaths and 834 female deaths. These statistics illustrate a decreasing trend in smoking prevalence and smoking-related mortalities since 2016, when smoking accounted for 6.83% of all deaths in the country.