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Smoking

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.

Activities at Robert Koch Institute

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.

Research projects and cooperation

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.

Publications

Health of people with selected citizenships: results of the study GEDA Fokus

Bartig S, Koschollek C, Bug, M, Blume M, Kajikhina K, Geerlings J, Starker A, Hapke U, Rommel A, Hövener C, Journal of Health Monitoring 2023 8(1):7-33

Participation of the adult population in preventive measures for non-communicable diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/2021.

Jordan S, Kuhnert R, Schmid-Küpke NK, Starker A, Journal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(4):36-53

Smoking behaviour and passive smoke exposure of adults – Results from GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS

Starker A, Kuhnert R, Hoebel J, Richter A, Journal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(3):6-20

Health situation in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Developments over time for selected indicators of GEDA 2019/2020 – An update

Damerow S, Rommel A, Beyer AK, Hapke U, Schienkiewitz A, Starker A, Richter A, Baumert J, Fuchs J, Gaertner B, Müters S, Lemcke J, Allen J (2022) Journal of Health Monitoring S3/2022:1-19

Health-promoting behaviour among adults in Germany – Results from GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS.

Richter A, Schienkiewitz A, Starker A, Krug S, Domanska O, Kuhnert R, Loss J, Mensink G, Journal of Health Monitoring 2021 (6)3:26-44

Developments in the health situation in Germany during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic for selected indicators of GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS.

Damerow S, Rommel A, Prütz F, Beyer AK, Hapke U, Schienkiewitz A, Starker A, Richter A, Baumert J, Fuchs J, Gaertner B, Müters S, Lemcke J, Allen J, Journal of Health Monitoring 2020 (5)4:3-20; doi: 10.25646/7172.2

Health behaviour and COVID-19: Initial findings on the pandemic.

Jordan S, Krug S, Manz K, Moosburger R, Schienkiewitz A, Starker A, Varnacciag G, Zeiher J, Wachtler B, Loss J, Journal of Health Monitoring 2020 5(S8):1-14, doi: 10.25646/7055

Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use in adolescence – Cross-sectional results of the 2017/18 HBSC study

Robert Koch-Institut, Moor I, Winter K, Rathmann K, Ravens-Sieberer U, Richter M, Journal of Health Monitoring 2020 5(3):69-87, doi: 10.25646/6903

Smoking behaviour among children and adolescents in Germany. Results of the cross-sectional KiGGS Wave 2 study and trends

Zeiher J, Starker A, Kuntz B (2018) Journal of Health Monitoring 3(1):38-44 doi: 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2018-025

Developments in smoking behaviour during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Results of the KiGGS cohort

Mauz E, Kuntz B, Zeiher J, Vogelgesang F, Starker A, Vogelgesang F, Starker A, Lampert T, Lange C (2018) Journal of Health Monitoring 3(1):62-66 doi: 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2018-029

Smoking during pregnancy. Results of the cross-sectional KiGGS Wave 2 study and trends

Kuntz B, Zeiher J, Starker A, Prütz F, Lampert T (2018) Journal of Health Monitoring 3(1):45-51 doi: 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2018-026

Trends in absolute and relative educational inequalities in adult smoking since the early 2000s: the case of Germany

Hoebel J, Kuntz B, Kroll LE, Finger JD, Zeiher J, Lange C, Lampert T (2018), Nicotine & Tobacco Research 20 (3): 295-302