[toomanybeersies]

Is that right that the USA has fewer smokers than New Zealand and Australia?

New Zealand and Australia have made massive efforts to reduce their rates of smokers. They both have plain packaging, tobacco products aren't allowed to be visibly on sale (in New Zealand, they won't even tell you what they have, you have to guess and hope they have it in stock). They also have the most expensive tobacco in the world. A 25 pack of Marlboros will set you back AU$32 (US$23).

That doesn't seem right that the USA, which has in general put a lot less restrictions on tobacco and has much cheaper tobacco, has a lower incidence of smokers than Australia or New Zealand.

Anecdotally, most daily smokers I know aren't smoking 20 a day either.

[ddeck]

According to Wikipedia, it was 17.2% in the US compared with 14.9% in Australia in 2015 [1].

This was based on WHO data published in 2016.

According to the same article, the rate had dropped to under 13% in Australia in 2016. The CDC put the US 2016 rate at 15.5% [2].

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_tobacco_consum...

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adul...

[jclardy]

Do most places in NZ have indoor smoking bans? Many cities in the US have made it so smokers have to be outside, and a certain number of feet away from business entrances.

[e40]

A 25 pack of Marlboros will set you back AU$32 (US$23).

I don't smoke, but a pack in CA is, according to DDG, US$8. For comparison, 25 x US$8 = US$200.

[ddeck]

The comparison is US$23 to US$8.

In Australia, it's US$23 for a pack of 25 cigarettes. Not a carton of 25 packs of cigarettes.

[aplummer]

I actually really like that cigarettes are so expensive the above poster made that error.