Press release No. N 033 of 30 May 2022
- A total of 75,500 deaths due to smoking-specific illnesses in 2020
- 375,200 patients treated in hospital because of relevant diagnoses
- Every adult in Germany consumed an average of 1,033 cigarettes in 2021
WIESBADEN – Approximately 75,500 people died of smoking-specific illnesses in Germany in 2020. 46,100 of these cases were due to lung, bronchial, laryngeal or tracheal cancer and 29,400 to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To mark the World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the risk of women dying from such illnesses rose significantly within 20 years. In 2000, 23 women per 100,000 inhabitants died of lung and bronchial cancer. Twenty years later, the number was up to nearly 40, which was an increase of 73%. A similar trend can be observed for COPD. From just under 16 women per 100,000 inhabitants who died from the lung disease in 2000, the number doubled to 32 in 2020. One reason for this may be that the number of women smokers as a proportion of the female population has risen substantially since the 1950s.
Basic data and long time series are available in table Taxation of tobacco products: Germany, years (73411-0001) in the GENESIS-Online database.
