The Robert Koch Institute (RKI): main building in Berlin. more
Germany’s Public Health institute RKI monitors the population’s health and wellbeing. more
The Robert Koch Institute is the German government's central institution for the identification, surveillance and prevention of infectious diseases in the Portfolio of the German Ministry of Health. more
In industrial nations, smoking is the most significant single health risk and the leading cause of premature death. Diseases that occur more frequently in smokers include cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer.
In Germany alone, about 127,000 people die every year from the consequences of smoking. In addition, diseases, health symptoms and premature death caused by regular exposure to passive smoke also occur.
Relevance to society is further increased by the high costs of healthcare for diseases and health problems linked to smoking, as well as possible consequences of illness, such as inability to work or early retirement.
In the context of its health monitoring, the Robert Koch Institute regularly collects data on smoking in Germany. The focus here lies on the description of temporal developments and trends as well as social and regional differences in smoking habits. The results are published in the framework of health reporting and in relevant scientific journals.
Moreover, the results are regularly included in the Addiction Yearbook, which is published by the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS), as well as in drug and addiction reports of the federal government.
The Robert Koch Institute cooperates with other institutions that regularly collect and provide data on the smoking behaviour of the population, including the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, which is also reflected in publications, such as the Tobacco Atlas 2020.
