Tobacco smoking in Sao Tome and Principe

In Sao Tome and Principe, cigarettes are legal to sell, smoke, and import for trade with some restrictions and regulations. Under these regulations, tobacco advertising is regulated, but there is not a complete ban on all forms of advertising. Cigarettes can be purchased online and from vending machines. While the law requires health warnings on all tobacco packaging, there are currently no minimum age restrictions on their sales and no legal restrictions on smoking in public places. Cigarettes are subject to a 14.29% specific excise tax, with the total taxation rate of 29.85%.

The 2024 estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the current smoking prevalence among males aged 15 years and older was 9.4% in Sao Tome and Principe, while among females it was significantly lower with only 1%. The overall adult current smoking prevalence was 5.2% in 2024. In comparison, the adult smoking prevalence in 2020 was 8.4% among males and 0.7% among females, with an overall current prevalence of 4.5%. The total number of smokers was estimated to be 7,000 in 2024 and 5,500 in 2020. The adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2019 was estimated to be 2.2%, with a prevalence of 5.5% among males and 0.6% among females.

Smoking-related mortality data in 2021 show that 32 deaths were caused by smoking, with males accounting for 27 and females for 5 of these deaths. This shows that smoking-related deaths constituted 2.83% of all deaths in the country, with 4.42% of males deaths and 0.96% of females deaths. These statistics underscore the ongoing public health challenge posed by tobacco smoking in Sao Tome and Principe, necessitating focused regulatory and public health interventions to curb smoking rates and associated mortalities.