Smoking, vaping, HTP, NRT and snus in Saudi Arabia

There has been an upwards trend in current smoking prevalence in the general population in Saudi Arabia. In 2000 the overall prevalence was estimated to be around 15%; this increased to 16% by 2015, with a projection to increase to 17% by 2025. This increase in prevalence has been driven entirely by men's smoking, which increased from 23% to 26% between 2000 and 2015, and is projected to increase further to 28% by 2025 according to WHO trend data. By contrast, women's smoking during the same period has shown a decrease, from 4.2% in 2000 to 1.8% in 2015, and is projected to decrease to around 1% by 2025. The WHO published prevalence trend estimates in tobacco smoking, as shown here, in their 2018 2nd edition report, which show slightly different smoking prevalence to the WHO country profiles. Data for the estimates were obtained from WHO databases. The trend lines are projections, not predictions, of future attainment. A projection indicates a likely endpoint if the country maintains its tobacco control efforts at the same level that it has implemented them to date. Therefore the impact of recent interventions could alter the expected endpoint shown in the projection. While the methods of estimation used in the first and second editions of the WHO report are the same, the volume of data available for the second edition is larger i.e. 200 more national surveys. The results presented are therefore more robust.