A senior health ministry official said he was proud to see the rate of smoking in Cambodia has dropped. Currently, there are an estimated 1.6 million smokers across the kingdom, equal to 13 per cent of the population aged 15 and over.
Speaking at a workshop on February 21 to disseminate the results of a survey on adult smoking conducted in 2021, Ing Phirun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Health and permanent vice president of the Tobacco Products Control Commission, said that the drop in the number of smokers is a result of concerted efforts from various ministries and partner NGOs.
He said they have educated the people on the impact and dangers of smoking.
According to the tobacco control report, the smoking population aged 15 and over had dropped to 13 per cent in 2021, from 17 per cent in 2014. By gender, the number of male smokers has dropped from 33 per cent to 25 per cent.
Phirun also took the occasion to call on all people to change their habits by giving up smoking for the sake of their health and the health of people in their families. He called on relevant state institutions overseeing tobacco to effectively enforce the law.
