Denmark has the unenviable reputation of being the heaviest smokers in the Nordics, although the country lags well behind many of its southern and eastern European counterparts.
New analysis by Czech researcher Jakub Marian, which is based on figures from 2007, showed that the average Dane above the age of 15 smokes an average 1,413 per year. Somewhat worryingly, perhaps, is that the figures for Sweden (715), Norway (534), Finland (671) and Iceland (477) are well below Denmark.
The data also shows that eastern and southern Europeans smoke way more than their northern counterparts; Russia is said to be the “smokiest” country in the east, with the average person of 15 years or above consuming 2,786 cigarettes per year. Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova take up the next three spots with the numbers at 2,401, 2,266 and 2,479 respectively.
However, it is the southern Europeans who smoke more than the rest, with Serbia out in front on 2,924 cigarettes a year on average. Bulgaria on 2,822 and Greece on 2,795 complete the top three, while Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also heavy smokers.
The UK was among the lowest smokers in Europe, with people aged 15 or above smoking an average of 750 cigarettes per year, while France was on 854, Germany on 1,045 and Spain on 1,757.