Consumption of tobacco is one of the leading causes of avoidable death globally. The consumption
rate of tobacco increases by 4% per annum. About 1 billion people, which is nearly 15% of the world’s
population in 2016, are cigarettes smokers, with men accounting for 800 million of these smokers.
Although the prevalence rate of tobacco smoking in Africa is only 14%, which is low compared to the
Americas (23%) and the Eastern Mediterranean (31%), its growth is the highest in the world. Mozambique,
for example has seen a 220% growth in cigarette consumption over the past 16 years.

The 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic highlighted that
tobacco use kills nearly 6 million people worldwide each year. It is estimated that by the year 2025,
three times as many people (18 million) will die annually from smoking-related diseases. More than 80%
of these preventable deaths are predicted to occur in low and middle income countries, where health
facilities and services are inadequately equipped to cope with the demands presented by smoking
related illnesses.

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