Latvia - country profile
- Cigarettes Cigarettes
- Nicotine Vaping Devices (E-cigarettes) E-cigarettes
- Snus Snus
- Heated Tobacco Products HTP
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy NRT
Cigarettes in Latvia
The overall trend for prevalence of current smokers in the general population in Latvia has been downwards since 2006, however this decrease only started from 2012 onwards. 32% of the population in Latvia were current smokers in 2017, down from 36% in 2006. The prevalence was similar between 2006 and 2012 (at 36%), after which it started to reduce. 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.
All
Prevalence
Smoking-related mortality
Product promotion
Regulation
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Perception of harm
Tax
Tobacco smoking prevalence
Number of current smokers:
594,536
A
Adult current tobacco smoking prevalence:
36.7%
A
Adult current tobacco smoking prevalence (female):
24.0%
A
Adult current tobacco smoking prevalence (male):
49.5%
A
A
(1) WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025, third edition. (2019). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-global-report-on-trends-in-prevalence-of-tobacco-use-2000-2025-third-edition. (2) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Ed.). (2019). World Population Prospects 2019 (Online Edition Rev. 1.; Population Division). United Nations. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
Smoking-related mortality
Annual number of deaths attributable to tobacco smoking:
4,040
A
Annual number of deaths attributable to tobacco smoking (female):
943
A
Annual number of deaths attributable to tobacco smoking (male):
3,097
A
Annual percentage of all deaths attributable to tobacco smoking:
19.2%
A
Annual percentage of all deaths attributable to tobacco smoking (female):
6.3%
A
Annual percentage of all deaths attributable to tobacco smoking (male):
23.1%
A
A
The Tobacco Atlas. Available at: https://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/deaths/ Data source: GBD 2016 Risk Factors Collaborators.
Nicotine Vaping Devices (E-cigarettes) in Latvia
Latvia abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014). Vaping is prohibited wherever smoking is prohibited. The restriction on vaping includes a ban on vaping within 10 metres of government buildings, public transport stops, apartment stairwells/corridors, balconies, and around children. Furthermore, if you are asked to stop vaping near someone, you must do so by law. Latvia applies a complicated tax formula to e-liquids that takes into account the amount of nicotine in the bottle: €0.005 per milligram of nicotine in addition to €0.01 per millilitre of liquid. A 10 millilitre e-juice bottle of 20 mg/ml nicotine (the maximum volume and strength allowed by the EU TPD) would thus be taxed at €1.10 (€0.11 per millilitre). There is also a 21% Value Added Tax (VAT) on the final retail price.
All
Prevalence
Smoking-related mortality
Product promotion
Regulation
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Perception of harm
Tax
Prevalence
Number of current vapers:
30,349
A
Adult current e-cigarette vaping prevalence:
2.0%
A
Ever tried e-cigarette vaping:
24.0%
1
B
A
European Commission. (2021). Special Eurobarometer 506: Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes (S2240_506_ENG). European Commission. http://data.europa.eu/88u/dataset/S2240_506_ENG
B
European Commission (2017). Special Eurobarometer 458: Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes Available at: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S2146_87_1_458_ENG
1
Eurobarometer data provides a representative sample of ~28,000 respondents and estimates the prevalence of vaping for the EU overall, as well as per country. The survey was conducted in March 2017. Covers 28 European Union (EU) countries. Total sample N = 27901, aged 15 and over.
Product promotion
Advertising is regulated:
Yes
1
1
Allowed or banned at place of sale or allowed or banned in all media.
Regulation
A
Data cross-referenced where possible using the following sources :1. Vapetrotter website. Available at: https://www.vapetrotter.com/laws/ ; 2. Global tobacco control website. Available at:https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/node/14052 ; 3. Tobacco Control Laws website. Available at : https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Notifications of new products required:
Yes
Child and tamperproof containers required:
Yes
Health warning on packaging required:
Yes
Minimum age restrictions on sales:
Yes
18 years
A
Restrictions on nicotine content:
Yes
Legal restrictions on use in public places:
Yes
Restrictions on tank size:
Yes
A
https://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/products/revision_en
Perception of harm
Don't know:
9.0%
1
A
Not harmful, or less harmful than cigarettes:
11.0%
1
A
Harmful, or more harmful than cigarettes:
80.0%
1
A
A
Reference: European Commission (2017). Special Eurobarometer 458: Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes Available at: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S2146_87_1_458_ENG
1
Question asked in this survey did not compare harmfulness with cigarettes. The question used was 'Do you think they are harmful to the health of people who use them?' 80% - YES, 11% - NO, 9% DON'T KNOW
Snus in Latvia
There are no comments specific to snus in Latvia in the database.
All
Prevalence
Smoking-related mortality
Product promotion
Regulation
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Perception of harm
Tax
Regulation
Regulatory status:
Banned
A
A
Tobacco Tactics website available at: http://tobaccotactics.org/index.php/Snus:_EU_Ban_on_Snus_Sales
Heated Tobacco Products in Latvia
There are no comments specific to heated tobacco products in Latvia in the database.
All
Prevalence
Smoking-related mortality
Product promotion
Regulation
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Perception of harm
Tax
Availability
Products are marketed:
Yes
1
A
A
Philip Morris International website. Available at: https://www.pmi.com/smoke-free-products/iqos-our-tobacco-heating-system
1
IQOS
Nicotine Replacement Therapy in Latvia
There are no comments specific to nicotine replacement therapy in Latvia in the database.
All
Prevalence
Smoking-related mortality
Product promotion
Regulation
Availability
Regulations and restrictions
Perception of harm
Tax
Product promotion
Market size:
0.40 million €
A
Market size per smoker:
1.00 €
A
A
Consumer Health: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics. Date Exported: 8/9/2019. (c) Euromonitor International 2019
