Tobacco smoking in Cameroon

In Cameroon, smoking is legally allowerd but tobacco products including cigarettes are subject to certain regulations. Under these regulatory frameworks, cigarettes are allowed for sale and smoke and can be legally purchased online and through vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is also allowed with a license. However, health warnings on cigarette packaging are required. Notably, there are currently no minimum legal age restrictions on sales of cigarettes, but legal restrictions exist for smoking in public places such as healthcare and educational facilities. Tobacco advertising is regulated, however, a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising is not currently imposed. Cigarettes are subject to a specific excise tax of 14.29% and a total taxation rate of 38.36% in Cameroon.

The current prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older in Cameroon was reported to be 4.6% in 2024, by the World Health Organization (WHO). This marks a slight decrease from 5% in 2020 and 7.5% in 2019. The same data from 2024 also indicate that tobacco smoking prevalence was significantly higher among adult males with 8.9%, compared to only 0.3% among adult females. The current number of adult tobacco smokers was reported to be 764,000 individuals in 2024, an increase from 738,546 smokers in 2020 and a decline from 1,084,963 smokers in 2019. The adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2017 was 4.6%, with 9.1% among males and 0.5% among females.

Smoking-related mortality data from 2021 show that smoking accounted for 1.74% of all deaths in Cameroon, corresponding to 4,532 deaths. Gender-specific data for 2021 show that deaths due to smoking accounted for 2.5% of all deaths among males and 0.75% among females. These statistics represent the public health burden posed by tobacco smoking in Cameroon, particularly among male populations, despite the observed decline in prevalence rates in recent years.