More than one in five Greeks smoke or use tobacco products every day, giving Greece one of the highest daily smoking rates in the European Union, according to new figures from Eurostat. The data, covering people aged 16 and older across the 27-member bloc, show 22.6% of Greeks used tobacco daily in 2025, well above the EU average of 16.5%.
The gap widens further when broken down by gender. Nearly 30% of Greek men, 29.6% to be exact, smoked every day last year, compared with 15.9% of Greek women. Both figures mark a decline from 2022, when the male rate stood at 30.4%, and the female rate reached 18.4%. Across the EU as a whole, 20.8% of men and 12.6% of women smoked daily in 2025.
Why Greeks smoke daily more than most of Europe
Only three EU countries reported higher daily smoking rates than Greece. Bulgaria topped the list at 26.3%, followed by Sweden at 23.9% and Croatia at 23.6%. Greece tied with Cyprus for fourth place, both at 22.6%.
At the other end of the scale, the Netherlands recorded the lowest rate in the bloc, just 9.9%, followed by Ireland at 11.7%, Belgium at 13.6% and Luxembourg at 13.8%.
Despite its high ranking, Greece’s smoking rate has been falling. It dropped from 24.2% in 2022 to 22.6% in 2025, part of a broader downward trend seen in 17 of the 27 EU countries.
Spain and Luxembourg posted the steepest declines, each falling by 2.1 percentage points. Croatia and Lithuania moved the other way, each climbing 2.7 percentage points over the same period.
Age patterns and shifting tobacco products across the EU
Age also plays a role in who smokes across the EU. Eurostat found daily tobacco use peaks among people between 35 and 49 years old, at 21.3%, followed closely by those age 25 to 34, at 19.9%, and 50 to 64, at 19.8%. Younger adults aged 16 to 24 and people 65 and older reported the lowest daily rates, at 12.1% and 9.1%.
The findings cover cigarettes along with e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches. Even with the pattern of Greeks smoking daily easing since 2022, the country’s rate remains among the highest tracked anywhere in the EU.
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