The Countries Championing the Smoking Decline

Staying in good health is important, but some areas struggle to stay fit compared to others

August 2025

Cigarette use continues to decline as awareness of the health risks of smoking increases. There are many countries that have stepped up efforts to ban single-use and disposable vapes, with a push to reducing nicotine addiction among young people.

Health insurance comparison service, iSelect wanted to investigate which countries are leading the shift away from smoking by creating an index on which countries have had a decline in smoking, tough vaping regulations to prevent further addiction, or expensive taxes on tobacco to slow down the impact of smoking on health. With that in mind, these are the countries that are tackling nicotine use better than any others.

The top ten countries for quitting smoking

Each country on our list was assigned a score from 0 to 100 based on its approach to cigarette use. We examined the percentage of the country that were smokers (and how quickly this number was declining), the average cost of cigarettes, the average number of Google searches for ‘stop smoking’ initiatives per 10,000 of the population, and the level of regulation surrounding vaping to inform our rankings. Here are the top ten countries for stopping smoking:

1. Australia

Australia topped the list for the global cigarette and vaping decline, scoring 74.91 out of 100 in our Index. With a typical pack of cigarettes costing $48.37 AUD – the most expensive of over 100 countries in our rankings – Australia is seeing a -0.38% change in smokers year on year, with just 9.7% of the population currently using cigarettes. Its vaping regulations also score 8.5 out of 10, as the government continues to crack down on harmful alternatives like disposable e-cigarettes.

2. United Kingdom

The UK has a higher percentage of the population who are cigarette users than Australia at with10.8%, however, this number is dropping more significantly by 0.78% each year. The UK also had high number of online searches related to quitting smoking, with 25.36 queries per 10k people each year. These factors, combined with a vaping regulation score of 8.5 and an average pack of cigarettes costing £15.14 ($31.03 AUD), give the UK a total score of 71.67 out of 100.

3. Iceland

Iceland has the lowest rate of smokers in all of Europe, with just 6.1% of its residents using cigarettes as of 2025. Even with such a low percentage of smokers, though, Iceland is seeing a decline of 0.66% cigarette use each year. A 20-pack of cigarettes costs 1,768.29 ISK ($22.10 AUD) in the country, and it matches our top three with an 8.5 out of 10 vaping regulation rating. Overall, Iceland takes a bronze medal for cigarette decline, finishing with a score of 70.43 out of 100.

4. New Zealand

New Zealand had the second-highest cigarette prices in our data, with a 20-pack costing $40.24 NZD ($36.82 AUD). This could be a contributing factor to its average annual cigarette use decline of 0.68%, with the current rate sitting at 10.3% of the population who are smokers in 2025. New Zealand also scores 8.5 out of 10 for its vaping regulations. These factors combined gave it a score of 70.09 overall.

5. Norway

Norway has one of the highest rates of cigarette use decline in the world, at 0.89% year on year. Scoring 63.48 on our index helps it round out our top five. A typical pack of 20 cigarettes costs 160.57 NOK ($24.15 AUD), with just 9.3% of the country still smoking as of 2025. Norway had a lower vaping regulation score than the rest of our top ten, with a rating of 7.5. However, Norway had the lowest number of Google searches relating to quitting smoking in our top 10, with only 3.02 per 10,000 of the population.

6. Canada

Canada is the sixth-best country for smoking decline in the world, with 10.1% of Canadians who are smokers, but this number is dropping by an average of 0.62% annually. A typical 20-pack of cigarettes would cost $20.16 CAD ($22.48 AUD) in Canada. They also scored 8.5 out of 10 for vaping regulations, suggesting a positive culture around the push to quitting nicotine.

7. Ireland

Ireland has the third-largest share of smokers out of our top ten, with 16.4% of the country still using cigarettes. Efforts are being made to reduce this number, as an average 20-pack of cigarettes costs €17.24 ($30.57 AUD), which could have potentially contributed to an annual decrease in smokers of 0.61%. The country also has a high number of searches for terms related to quitting smoking (28.11 per 10k annually), giving it an overall score of 62.83 out of 100 in our index.

8. Austria

Austria is seeing the sharpest decline in smokers worldwide, with cigarette use dropping by 1.03% each year, and it has the fourth-highest number of Google searches for quitting smoking (49.03 related queries per 10k people annually). These could be playing a major role in helping the country curb its high rate of cigarette use, as 21% of Austrians still smoke. Austria scored 62.65 out of 100 in our overall index, coming in eighth place.

9. Denmark

Denmark was placed ninth in our index, with 12.9% of Danes being smokers. There has been a year-on-year decrease of 0.76% of Danish smokers quitting, with 15.68 search queries for the topic per 10k residents annually. A 20-pack of cigarettes in Denmark costs 64.36 DKK ($15.29 AUD), which could have helped to discourage smoking from a financial perspective. Overall, the country scores 59.74 out of 100 on our index.

10. Germany

Rounding out our top ten is Germany, which has the third-most Google searches related to quitting smoking worldwide with 49.29 queries per 10k people every year. The number of smokers in the country is reported to have dropped by 0.57% year-on-year. However, 17.8% of its population are still smoking cigarettes as of 2025. This could be due to Germany’s vaping regulation score of 7 out of 10 – the lowest in our top ten. Overall, it scores 59.54 on our index.

The worst country for smoking health

We’ve already covered the top countries for smoking health, but what ranks as the worst area on our list? Indonesia scores just 6.95 in our overall index, making it the lowest-ranked country in our data. A massive 33.8% of Indonesians are smokers in 2025, and this number is rising by 0.18% each year. Plus, with a 20-pack costing 41,023.86 Rp ($3.83 AUD), it has some of the cheapest smoking prices in the world. Indonesia also has a low vaping regulation rating of 2 out of 10.

Australia’s best and worst states for cigarette use

The Australian Capital Territory was ranked the best in Australia for smoking health, with the lowest rate of smokers, where just 4.9% of residents use cigarettes and with a 20-pack costs as much as $50 AUD. These give the area an overall score of 75.47, with the number of smokers shrinking by 0.64% annually.

The Northern Territory was ranked last for smoking health in Australia, as 15.2% of residents use cigarettes, compared to 7% of residents using e-cigarettes (as of 2023). The state also has cheaper cigarettes than other areas, with a 20-pack costing $32.75, which contributes to its total score of just 29.25 out of 100.

The USA’s best and worst states for cigarette use

When it comes to the best states in America for smoking health, Connecticut has contributed to the global cigarette decline with only 8.4% of the state’s population identifying as smokers and with 1.13% quitting each year. It also reported that 6.2% of residents use vapes, which helped to give Connecticut a score of 70.79 out of 100.

In contrast, Tennessee ranked last in the index in the U.S, with 17% of residents smoking cigarettes, while 10.2% use vapes or e-cigarettes. With one of the lowest local taxes on tobacco at $0.62 USD ($0.95 AUD), Tennessee receives a low score of 20.41.

The UK’s best and worst cities for cigarette use

In the UK, Warrington was the best city for smoking health, with only 7.3% of residents who smoke, and with 28.41 annual search queries for terms related to stopping smoking per 10k people. These helped to earn it a score of 73.39 out of 100 overall.

Hull, however, ranks as the worst area of the UK for smoking health. With a score of just 17.35, 19.2% of its residents are still smoking cigarettes, with only a 0.49% decline of smokers year- on- year, contributing to it being ranked at the bottom of the UK smoking health index.

“Our research shows there are still a lot of smokers globally, even with the growing awareness around the long-term health risk that comes with smoking and vaping. It’s promising to see Australia leading the way in the decline of smoking and with strong regulations around vaping.

“Finding tailored and affordable health insurance can be crucial when facing a health issue. At iSelect we can help you compare plans with a range of health insurance providers to find the policy that suits your lifestyle and budget.”

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health at iSelect

Written by:

Sarah Grealy

Digital Public Relations Specialist

0413 363 690

sarah.grealy@iselect.com.au

Sarah is our Digital Public Relations Specialist, and brings more than a decade of experience in the insurance comparison industry to iSelect.

With a passion for storytelling through data-driven insights, Sarah strives to empower Aussies with practical guides and tips.

About the data

To uncover the areas leading the decline in cigarette smoking, we took a data-driven approach to analysing tobacco and vaping trends, building four distinct indexes:
– A global view across 120+ countries (based on data availability)
– A USA view (note: Kentucky and Pennsylvania excluded due to missing vaping data)
– An Australian view of each state and territory
– A UK view, covering 45+ major cities and local authorities
These rankings incorporate statistical modelling, price and tax data, and search behaviour analysis to evaluate the health trajectories of each location.

Projecting 2025 Smoking Rates (UK & Australia):
As 2025 smoking data was not available for the UK and Australia, we used an Empirical Bayes Hierarchical Model to project future smoking rates based on historical data. This Bayesian model pools information across areas, estimating local trends while also accounting for national-level patterns. The model uses empirical priors, calculated from actual data, to constrain predictions and ensure statistical stability, especially where some regions had fewer observations. This approach allows us to generate credible, data-informed forecasts with uncertainty bounds.

Calculating Rate of Change (All Locations):
To measure how quickly smoking is increasing or decreasing in each area, we applied a simple linear regression model to historical smoking rates over time. The slope of each model represents the average annual change in percentage points, for example, a slope of -0.4 means the smoking rate has dropped by 0.4 percentage points per year, on average. This metric enables fair comparison across countries and regions, regardless of baseline prevalence.

Currencies taken from Numbeo and currency converted to AUD on (29/07/25).) from Numbeo

Sources:
– Tobacco: current tobacco use, tobacco smoking and cigarette smoking, age-standardized – World Health Organization
– Basket of Goods and Services by Country – Numbeo
– https://dataforseo.com/
– Regulation of electronic cigarettes – Wikipedia
– lung.org/content/sotc/2025/ala-state-of-tobacco-control-2025.pdf
– Explore E-Cigarette Use in the United States | AHR
– Adult smoking habits in the UK – Office for National Statistics
– 1.13 Smoking by Australian states and territories – Tobacco in Australi a
– 18.3 Prevalence of e-cigarette use – Tobacco in Australia

Disclaimer: This study includes statistical projections and modelling techniques designed to fill data gaps in public health research. Every effort has been made to ensure accurate data sourcing and rigorous methodology, but real-world changes and local variables may lead to differences from actual outcomes. The findings should be used for educational and research purposes only, and not as the sole basis for policy or personal decisions.

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