26% of the adult population are current smokers
There are approximately 4.1 million current smokers in Romania
36.2% of men are current smokers but only 16.6% of women
Country profile
Data sourced:
2025.
Page updated:
2026-07-01
Smoking in Romania
The overall trend for prevalence of current smokers in the general population in Romania has been gently downwards since 2006. 28% of Romanians were current smokers in 2017, down from 31% in 2006. The trend was mostly downwards, with a slight upwards blip in the 2017 survey (+1%). These data come from the Eurobarometer surveys, the most recent of which was carried out in 2017. In the most recent survey a total of 27,901 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home, in their mother tongue, across all 28 of the EU countries. The sample for each country is representative, however the sample sizes are relatively small (e.g. most countries had just over 1000 participants, but for Italy, Malta and Lithuania the sample was around 500). Nevertheless, the Eurobarometer surveys are useful as they have estimates for smoking prevalence collected over a number of years which can show trends, as described here.
29,482
Deaths
Each year, 29,482 deaths in Romania are attributed to tobacco smoking.
0.4 million €
Market size of NRT.
The estimated size of the NRT market is 0.4 million €.
Nicotine Vaping Devices
in Romania
Romania abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014). E-cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products and are regulated by Law No. 201/2016. The only place where vaping is banned is on public transport. Additionally there is a near total ban on advertising, cross border sales of e-liquids are prohibited and E-liquids are taxed at €0.11 per millilitre.
Heated Tobacco Products
in Romania
In Romania, Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) are legally allowed for sale and use including sales through online channels. HTPs are also available and can be purchased from general retail stores. The law, however, does not allow health benefit claims about these products and requires health warnings on their packaging. There are also restrictions on their flavours.
Data show that there were an estimated 206,184 adult users of HTPs in Romania in 2023 which indicates an increase from an estimated 80,000 adult HTP users in 2020. The current HTP use prevalence among adults was 1.3% in 2023, which shows an increase from 0.5% in 2020. The daily prevalence of HTP use was 0.5% in 2023 which is also a slight increase from 0.4% in 2020.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
in Romania
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is legally allowed in Romania, including the sale and purchase of its products without a prescription. NRT products can be found in pharmacies. Although they are not included on the country’s essential drugs list the government partially covers the cost of NRT. NRT market value in Romania was estimated to be 0.4 million € in 2019.
Snus
in Romania
Used in Scandinavia for more than 200 years, snus is providing smokers in Sweden and Norway with an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Find out what it is, and why it is considered a safer nicotine product in our briefing paper.
Pouches
in Romania
Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product which can provide users of high-risk tobacco with an alternative that poses fewer risks to their health. Read more about nicotine pouches in our briefing paper
The GSTHR database is updated regularly by our team.
However, please be aware that the information we provide does not constitute legal advice.
We cannot guarantee that the information is up to date or accurate, as the regulatory status of different product
categories can change at short notice and with little publicity.
If you wish to check the legal status of use or possession of any safer nicotine product in a specific country or region,
you should verify the information independently.
If you have reason to think that the information supplied on the GSTHR is inaccurate, please contact us with details
and any references and we will rectify any errors.