The fight against tobacco is having more of an impact with Maltese men than women, according to official figures, which also show that one in five Maltese people smoke every singleday.

Between 2008 and 2014, which is when the latest statistics were recorded, there was a decrease of just 0.2 per cent in smoking across the Maltese population.

But while daily male smokers decreased by 2.1 per cent, the population of daily female smokers went up by 1.2 per cent. 

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day which will be commemorated on Thursday, Lovin Malta asked the Health Ministry for an update regarding the public health war on tobacco. 

According to the European Health Interview Survey carried out in 2014/2015, 23.3 per cent of males and 17.0 per cent of females are daily smokers. 

Overall 20.1 per cent of the population aged 15 years and over are daily smokers.

The numbers how there was a decrease of 1.5 per cent in the Maltese population among “occasional smokers”, this time more in females (1.9 per cent) compared to males (1.3 per cent). 

The good news is that the strongest decrease was registered among 15 to 16-year-old children who reported smoking in the last 30 days. This age bracket saw a drop of seven per cent between 2012 and 2016. A drop of six per cent was also registered between 2006 and 2014 among 16-year-olds who took up regular smoking.  

The good news is that the strongest decrease was registered among 15 to 16-year-old children who reported smoking in the last 30 days. 

The Health Ministry said Maltese authorities were tackling the problem on various fronts: reducing supply and demand, protecting the general population, preventing the uptake of smoking and helping smokers to quit. 

Included in these measures are increasing price and taxes, imposing larger pictorial health warnings, tackling promotional or misleading packages, preventing tobacco advertising and measures to combat illicit trade.

Asked which measures were being most effective, the Health Ministry said it was difficult to identify the leading factor in reducing smoking because “evidence shows multifactorial strategies have the most impact”. 

Citing the World Health Organisation, the Health Ministry listed increased taxes/prices, plain packaging, advertising bans, banning tobacco smoke in public places and mass media campaigns to educate about harm were all deemed to be best practices. 

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Chris Peregin

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.