Latvia’s smoking incidence at 36 percent in 2014

About 36 percent of Latvians aged 15 to 64 are daily smokers, according to a Baltic Daily story citing 2014 data presented to members of the parliamentary subcommittee on public health by the Latvian Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDPC).

About 52 percent of men and 21 percent of women aged 15-64 were said to smoke on a daily basis.

The incidence of smoking among women increased by three percentage points between 2011 and 2014.

But the incidence of smoking among teenagers has declined. While in 2011 smokers made up 29 percent of boys and 34 percent of girls in the 13-15 years age group, by 2014 only 17 percent of teenagers were smoking on a regular basis.

The CDPC said that 47 percent of daily smokers wanted to quit the habit.