Research has shown that there are more than 416,000 female cigarette smokers in Ethiopia, but there are indications that the current number is higher than this, according to the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority.
Ato Sisay Derso, a non-communicable disease control expert at the authority, told Fidel Post that the increment of shisha houses and night clubs has led to grow the number of female smokers.
He added that the study conducted in 2016 and it indicates that there are 2.6 million tobacco smokers in Ethiopia.
And also, to find out the current number, a study will be conducted soon in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Public Health Institute and other affiliated local and international organizations.
In the last servey, when a study was conducted on tobacco smoking in Ethiopia, it was conducted on those over 18 years old, and in the new study, teenagers over 12 years old will also be included.
In Ethiopia, the current average price of a packet of cigarette is about 50 birr, and planed to increase to 70 birr per packet.
Cigarette smoking was proven to cause lung cancer in the 1950s, and subsequent research has shown that it makes medication ineffective.
Smokers are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, hearing loss, or diabetes.
