8 Countries Where Smoking Plummeted — What Drove the Dramatic Declines?

For much of the 20th century a lit cigarette was a ubiquitous accessory. That image has changed: in several countries smoking prevalence has moved from slow decline to a historic reversal, reshaping public health in ways that would have seemed unlikely a generation ago. Below are eight nations where the reductions are especially striking and the policies and cultural shifts behind them.

Sweden

Sweden now records some of the lowest smoking rates in Europe. In 2023 only 8% of people aged 15 and over smoked, versus an EU average of about 24%. By 2024 daily smoking among people aged 16–84 had fallen to 5.4% (down from 12.8% in 2008). Much of this change is attributed to long-standing use of snus and the more recent uptake of nicotine pouches, which provide a non-combustible alternative to cigarettes.

Norway

Norway follows a similar Scandinavian pattern but by a slightly different route. Not subject to the EU snus ban, Norway cut daily smoking to about 7%. Snus has largely displaced cigarettes for many users. Norway’s youth reached smoke-free status early (2015), a milestone later matched by other countries.

New Zealand

New Zealand is close to “smoke-free” status (commonly defined as smoking prevalence under 5%). It ranks among the lowest globally, with around 6.8% smoking. Unlike Scandinavia, New Zealand’s decline has been driven more by vaping than smokeless tobacco, and its youth became largely smoke-free by 2022.

United Kingdom

In 2024 Britain passed a symbolic threshold: for the first time more adults in Great Britain reported using e-cigarettes than smoking tobacco (10.0% v. 9.1% of adults 16+). Smoking prevalence fell from 20.2% in 2011 to 10.6% in 2024. Young adults were a major driver of the decline—smoking among 18–24-year-olds dropped sharply from 25.7% in 2011 to 8.1% in 2024.

South Korea

South Korea’s reduction is notable because male smoking was once very high. The overall cigarette-smoking rate fell below 20% for the first time in 2021 and was about 17.7% in 2022. By 2024 roughly 8.1 million adults were current smokers (about 17.6% prevalence), with a pronounced gender gap: about 30.2% of men versus 5.1% of women. Recent policies—such as expanded smoke-free zones near schools introduced in 2024—continue to tighten the environment for smoking.

Brazil

Brazil’s turnaround over three decades is one of the most dramatic worldwide. Vigitel data show adult smoking fell from 34.8% in 1989 to 9.3% in 2023—a roughly three-quarters reduction—following sustained public-health campaigns and stronger legal measures after Brazil ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. Progress has not been perfectly linear: authorities reported a slight rise to 11.6% in 2024, underscoring ongoing challenges such as the spread of e-cigarettes.

India

India’s decline is remarkable for its scale. National estimates show tobacco use falling from about 55.8% around 2000 to roughly 21.8% today—a drop of about 34 percentage points. Region-wide trends in South and Southeast Asia mirror this progress, and because of India’s huge population, even modest percentage-point declines translate into tens of millions fewer tobacco users.

United States

The United States has one of the longest continuous declines, beginning after the mid-1960s peak in cigarette use. Smoking prevalence has fallen substantially, yet tobacco-related harm remains large: the CDC estimates smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke contribute to roughly one in five deaths in the country each year. Regional disparities are evident—states such as West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee have some of the highest adult smoking rates, contrasting sharply with national trends.

The Bigger Picture

These eight countries illustrate that large reductions in smoking rarely follow a single path. Sweden and Norway leaned on smokeless, culturally accepted nicotine products; New Zealand and the UK saw big shifts linked to vaping; while South Korea, Brazil, India and the US relied more on taxation, advertising restrictions and long-running public-health campaigns. The common thread is persistence: years of policy follow-through and cultural change, not quick fixes. Globally, estimated tobacco users fell from about 1.38 billion in 2000 to roughly 1.2 billion in 2024—showing how sustained national advances add up over time.