Tunisian, Algerian, and Libyan specialists are sounding the alarm over the scale of tobacco use in North Africa, specifically highlighting the increasingly early start among youths, occasionally before the age of ten. Gathering in Tunis to mark World No Tobacco Day, they are demanding a unified regional strategy to bolster prevention, improve care options, and curb a trend viewed as both worrying and deeply rooted.
A regional press briefing dedicated to North African tobacco consumption was launched by Med.TN, a medical platform and the foremost professional medical network in Tunisia, whose operations have reached across several North African countries. Conducted under the theme “Tobacco Use in North Africa: Debating a Shared Challenge,” the event brought together Tunisian, Algerian, and Libyan authorities from the fields of cardiology, pulmonology, and epidemiology. Moderated by broadcaster and journalist Hassen Hameli, the discussions thoroughly analyzed the scale of the habit across these three nations, its sociocultural drivers, and the constraints of current frameworks, while shaping a roadmap for tighter cross-border teamwork.
Serving as a recurring theme throughout the talks, the demand for a harmonized North African strategy emerged as the central takeaway of the meeting. Panelists argued that when confronting a public health threat that overlooks borders, the region’s nations must progress together by focusing on four core pillars: prevention, regulation, cessation help, and harm reduction.
In this regard, the professionals pointed out that on a global scale, smoking causes over eight million deaths annually, while the total pool of smokers is estimated at 1.3 billion individuals. They maintained that the burden of this crisis is heavily felt within low- and middle-income nations. According to the attendees, North Africa is bound to this reality, especially given that tobacco prevalence remains high in Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, even if specific dynamics differ between each country. The trajectories recorded over recent years offer little comfort and present a structural threat to the region.
The Algerian situation drew significant focus during the debates. One of the most troubling patterns involves the shrinking age at which pre-teens take up smoking. According to the shared research, some are introduced to tobacco before hitting ten years of age. This growing precocity directly challenges the effectiveness of existing preventative structures and highlights new cultural patterns that state policies struggle to address.
Speakers emphasized the need to differentiate between three approaches they view as complementary: prevention, cessation, and risk minimization. Based on their data, prevention aims to stop tobacco initiation entirely, whereas cessation programs support current smokers attempting to quit. Meanwhile, harm reduction targets individuals who either cannot or do not wish to quit smoking immediately.
Lower-Risk Alternatives
Within this framework, the specialists noted that non-combustible items, such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco devices, and nicotine pouches, could be considered lower-risk substitutes compared to traditional cigarettes.
Similarly, the issue of smoking cessation was explored through the lens of Algeria’s infrastructure. Presenters stated that 53 cessation clinics had been established across the country. That being said, according to the disclosed figures, only three of these units are fully functional. This finding underscores the sharp gap between the assistance smokers need and the actual support networks available. The specialists cited data indicating that over 95 percent of surveyed smokers acknowledge the severe hazards of cigarette consumption but feel they lack access to sufficiently effective guidance to help them break the habit.
Numerous international case studies were highlighted during the event. Speakers referenced Sweden, which currently boasts one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe—a milestone they credit to the widespread adoption of non-combustible products, specifically nicotine pouches. They brought up Japan’s model, where a sharp decline in traditional cigarette sales followed the mainstream expansion of heated tobacco products. The United Kingdom was also cited as a benchmark, with the experts noting that harm reduction occupies an explicit role in its national anti-smoking policy.
Ultimately, the specialists suggested that integrating a tobacco harm reduction framework could be a highly viable path forward, arguing that this strategy has already delivered measurable results in nations that chose to implement it. Concluding the forum, the panel unanimously agreed that isolated national efforts and separate initiatives have met their limits, asserting that long-term regional alignment is vital to significantly driving down tobacco usage across the territory.