Recap — Smoking Intensity, Gender and Contributing Factors, with Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo and Mehedi Hasan Rasel

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Published on July 4, 2025

On May 28, 2025, Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo and Mehedi Hasan Rasel, a postdoctoral research fellow and data analyst, respectively, from the Global Strategy Lab presented their findings from an upcoming research paper on cigarette smoking intensity and gender.

Dr. Nanyangwe-Moyo discussed the background and goals of the study, which included estimating the gender differences in the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the reasons behind these differences. Following this, Rasel explained the methods and study design, including data collection and analysis of key variables involved in the study which included gendered smoking intensity, region, GDP per capita, religion, and gender equity.

The findings of the study showed that globally, men smoked 58% more cigarettes than women in terms of smoking intensity. Dr. Nanyangwe-Moyo highlighted the regional differences found in the smoking intensity and the role context plays in influencing the gender differences in smoking behaviours. Furthermore, she explained that both region and culture, which was examined through religion, were found to have significant associations with smoking intensity. ​

After the presentation of the statistical findings, Rasel discussed both the strengths and weaknesses of the study. One strength of this study is that it compiled the most comprehensive real-world dataset of gendered smoking intensity across 1722 countries, which will be open-access. On the other hand, Rasel spoke about what precautions to consider before utilizing the dataset.

Through this presentation, Dr. Nanyangwe-Moyo and Rasel detailed the findings of their exciting and important new study. The need for understanding and expanding surveillance of the gender-disaggregated quantity of tobacco use were highlighted as a key step forward in global tobacco control. To close the presentation, Dr. Nanyangwe-Moyo drew attention to the importance of the study’s findings in the context of tobacco control and an overall reduction of smoking worldwide.

Connect with Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo and Mehedi Hasan Rasel

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