Is this real health data?

Yes — real current adult tobacco use prevalence figures from the WHO's own Global Health Observatory API.

No. The GHO OData API is fully key-less.

How often does it update?

The pipeline re-reads the WHO's own dataset periodically, on whatever schedule WHO republishes that indicator.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Does this include e-cigarettes?

The indicator is for tobacco use. Electronic nicotine products are a separate subject and are not what this board ranks.

Why can a high-rate country be small?

The measure is a percentage of adults. A small population can have a high rate while a large nation with a lower rate has many more users in total.

Tobacco Use Board Screensaver

The Tobacco Use Board screensaver ranks real current adult tobacco use prevalence by country. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Tobacco Use Board screensaver works

The saver reads real current adult tobacco use prevalence data from the WHO's own Global Health Observatory API.

Countries are ranked by their real latest reported tobacco use rate.

The pipeline refreshes on the WHO's own periodic release schedule.

No key is required for this key-less public endpoint.

Behind the WHO tobacco figures

The numbers come from the World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory, its public data repository. Among its indicators is the estimated prevalence of current tobacco use, expressed as a percentage, and WHO publishes it both as a crude figure and as an age-standardized one. These are estimates produced for cross-country comparison rather than a headcount of every user.

A few things change how to read the ranking. Tobacco use covers more than cigarettes, and WHO lists tobacco smoking as a separate indicator, so a high figure for tobacco use can reflect smokeless products as well as smoking. Age-standardized values adjust for differing age structures so that populations can be compared fairly. Each value also carries a year, and the latest year available can differ between countries.

Prevalence is a share of adults, not a count of people, so a small country can top the list while a large one with a lower rate has far more users in total; WHO publishes a separate indicator for the number of users. The board shows how rates differ across countries and implies nothing about causes or about any individual's circumstances.

A worked example

A real country's most recent reported tobacco use rate is ranked against the real others, with bars easing into place as the board loads.

Settings & tips

This tracks current tobacco use among adults, from WHO's own survey data.
Accent recolours the bars and header text.
Values and years are real, unedited WHO Global Health Observatory data.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real health data?: Yes — real current adult tobacco use prevalence figures from the WHO's own Global Health Observatory API.
Is a key needed?: No. The GHO OData API is fully key-less.
How often does it update?: The pipeline re-reads the WHO's own dataset periodically, on whatever schedule WHO republishes that indicator.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Does this include e-cigarettes?: The indicator is for tobacco use. Electronic nicotine products are a separate subject and are not what this board ranks.
Why can a high-rate country be small?: The measure is a percentage of adults. A small population can have a high rate while a large nation with a lower rate has many more users in total.

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