How Sri Lanka Is Stubbing Out Cigarettes

 

Colombo, Sri Lanka — If you're thinking of lighting up in Sri Lanka these days, you might want to check the vibe—because smoking has become so last-century, it's practically a museum exhibit.

The Numbers (They Don't Lie—Unless You're a Smoker)

In 2022, only 8.5% of adults (aged 15+) in Sri Lanka were smokers—down from 13.8% in 2019

Male smoking dropped from 27.4% in 2019 to just 17.7% in 2022, while female smoking remains a rare 0.2% .

That means the absolute number of smokers fell from about 2 million in 2020 to around 1.4 million in 2022 .

Still, some 11,900+ die annually from smoking-related causes—about 50 deaths a day

Smoke-Free Punchlines

Young adults in Colombo treat cigarettes with the same disdain as dial-up internet:

“If you light up near me, I’ll assume you were cryogenically frozen in the 70s and just woke up.”

And it's not just health nerds—they're trendsetting:

“She said, ‘Appachchi, you smell like the 90s,’” says one former three-pack-a-day smoker. “I didn’t even know that was an insult.”

Government’s Role: Raising Prices and Raising Eyebrows

Cigarette packs now cost more than a hearty dinner, thanks to escalating sin taxes. Plus, 80% of the pack is now covered in graphic warnings—enough to ruin any smoker’s appetite

Who's Still Lighting Up?

Some groups remain stubborn:

Rural men, especially over 40, still have higher smoking rates—up to 31.9% in 2018

And single-stick cigarettes, once the poor man’s smoke, are still around, though efforts are underway to ban them .

The Final Puff?

Sri Lanka has slashed smoking rates by roughly a third since 2019—dropping from ~14% to just 8.5%. It’s a public-health success story with a grin