European vs. American Smokers

I’ve observed that Europeans are more likely to smoke than Americans. Is this true? If so, what are the reasons for this tendency?

After doing some research, I came across a research paper written in 2006 (the link is at the bottom) titled Why do Europeans Smoke More Than Americans? I always thought that Europeans smoke more, and not just because I used to smoke. My dad used to smoke, my brother smokes, many other relatives, and, quite literally, every single European friend I have made in this country also smoke. Apparently, my conclusion was correct, as stated by the paper, around 30% of Europeans smoke (some more, depending on the country), while only 19% of Americans smoke. This is despite the fact that cigarettes are more expensive and strictly regulated in European countries.

So why? Logically, one might think that the higher prices would drive more Europeans to quit, but this is not the case. There are many factors that come into play, but a large one seems to be that Europeans in general tend to be in disbelief of the consequences of smoking. For instance, 83 percent of American smokers believe that smoking causes cancer, while only 52 percent of German smokers agree.

One reason for this dissonance is that Americans have been more informed about smoking than Europeans. It wasn’t until recent decades that this difference between US and European smokers existed—before that, Americans used to smoke significantly more. But since the 1950s, Americans began to firmly believe in the consequences of smoking, and since then there has been a steady decline.

Perhaps Europe is behind in tobacco education. European media and culture has simply not taught them to be afraid of cigarettes the way Americans are.

http://www.nber.org/papers/w12124.pdf

Ioan Ozarchevici