Tobacco Use and Tobacco-Related Behaviors—11 Countries, 2008-2017.

Indu B. Ahluwalia, Rene A. Arrazola, Luhua Zhao et al.
Tobacco Use and Tobacco-Related Behaviors—11 Countries, 2008-2017.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:928-933.

Eighty percent of the world's 1.1 billion adults who smoke tobacco live in low- and middle-income countries. While collective efforts around the world have made significant impact on tobacco use rates and exposure to secondhand smoke, more work needs to be done. Continued surveillance of tobacco use, including new and emerging products, and other tobacco-related measures are also critical for informing tobacco control policy, planning, and practice worldwide. CDC analyzed country-specific data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) from 2008-2017 for 11 countries representing 70% of the world's population and calculated estimates for several tobacco use indicators. Analysis indicated that across the 11 countries, there was a decrease of approximately 20 million adults for current tobacco use; 98.8 million fewer adults were exposed to tobacco advertising, promotions, and sponsorships; 12.4 million additional tobacco users were considering quitting because of graphic warning labels; and 53.4 million adults experienced decreased exposure to secondhand smoke. The Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) is celebrating its 20th anniversary on October 22 as one of the largest surveillance systems in the world.  GATS is a major component of GTSS.