Bhutan tops smoking league

Bhutan has the highest share (24.6 percent) of smokers in Southeast Asia, reports Kuensel, citing a report by the World Health Organization on the mental health of adolescents in the region.

Despite the country’s complete ban on tobacco sales, tobacco use remains high among 13 to 17-year-olds, who constitute 9.4 percent of the population.

At 29.3 percent, Bhutan also has the highest share of adolescents using other tobacco products, followed by Timor-Leste (27.1 percent) and Thailand (14 percent).

According to the report, while most countries in the region legally restrict supply including sale of tobacco to people under a certain age, consumption remains high among those aged 13-17 throughout Southeast Asia.

Almost one in 10 adolescents in the 13–17 age-group years in the region smoked cigarettes.

What’s more, the age of tobacco initiation is decreasing in Southeast Asia.