The Greek smoking epidemic from a life-course perspective

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Demography

Background:

• Greece exhibits the highest smoking rates among OECD countries.
• Historical and life-course smoking patterns in Greece are not well understood.
• This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding smoking evolution in Greece.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze life-course smoking trajectories in Greece.
• To estimate the correlation between smoking and mortality across generations.
• To project future trends in smoking-attributable mortality.

Main Methods:

• Generated nationally representative life-course smoking trajectories for eight generations.
• Estimated smoking-mortality correlation, controlling for confounders.
• Projected future mortality trends based on smoking patterns.

Main Results:

• Male smoking prevalence has plateaued above 60% for most generations.
• Female smoking prevalence is lower, delayed, and shows a hump-shaped pattern.
• Smoking-attributable mortality is peaking for men and rising for women, with an estimated 20 years to maximize correlation.

Conclusions:

• The extensive Greek smoking epidemic reflects inadequate tobacco control.
• A temporary decrease in smoking occurred during the Great Recession.
• Continued policy vigilance is crucial to prevent smoking relapse post-economic recovery.