A new report from Smoke Free Sweden, Tale of Two Nations: UAE v Sweden, compares tobacco-control policies and smoking rates in the United Arab Emirates and Sweden. The report states that the UAE’s adult smoking rate fell from 14.7% in 2019 to 11.1% in 2024, while Sweden’s daily adult smoking rate reached 5.3% in 2024.
The report attributes Sweden’s decline to a combination of traditional tobacco controls and access to alternatives, including snus, nicotine pouches, and vapes. It recommends that the UAE establish a national tobacco harm reduction framework, align regulation and taxation with product risk, improve data collection on product use and switching, and expand public information about alternatives while maintaining protections against underage use.
