How many people on Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius smoke?
On Bonaire and Saba, approximately 13 percent of residents aged 15 years and over smoked in 2021. This is higher than on St Eustatius, where the smoking rate was 8 percent. There are more male than female smokers. In 2017/2018, 20 percent of Saba residents smoked; this was 15 percent on Bonaire and 12 percent on St Eustatius.
| Bonaire | St Eustatius | Saba | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 12.7 | 7.5 | 14.1 |
| Men | 17.5 | 11.4 | 18.2 |
| Women | 7.6 | 3.4 | 10.1 |
| 15-24 yrs | 6.8 | 4.4 | . |
| 25-44 yrs | 12.6 | 9.5 | 13.4 |
| 45-64 yrs | 16.6 | 6.6 | 18.2 |
| 65 yrs and over |
8.4 | 7.7 | 4.2 |
Men on Bonaire smoke twice as often as women
Men on Bonaire are more than twice as likely to smoke as women, namely 18 percent versus 8 percent. The number of men who smoke is more than 3 times higher than women smokers on St Eustatius: 11 percent of men and 3 percent of women said that they smoke. On Saba, there is no significant gender gap when it comes to smoking.
People between 45 and 65 years smoke the most on Bonaire and Saba
On Bonaire and Saba, smoking is primarily a habit among people between the age of 45 and 65. On Bonaire, people in this age group smoke more often than the young (people under 25); on Saba, they smoke more often than people over 65. There are no significant differences among the age groups on St Eustatius.
Occasional smokers mainly on St Eustatius and Saba
On Bonaire, 86 percent of smokers smoked every day in 2021. This means that approximately 11 percent of the population aged 15 and over were daily smokers. Approximately 2 percent were occasional smokers : they smoked sometimes, but not every day. There are relatively more occasional smokers on St Eustatius and Saba. On these two islands, over 60 percent of smokers smoke daily, while less than 40 percent are non-daily smokers.
It is noteworthy that men on Saba are more likely to be occasional smokers; half of the male smokers do not smoke every day, while one-fifth of the female smokers are occasional smokers. In terms of daily smokers on Saba, there is barely any difference between the sexes: 9 percent of men and 8 percent of women on Saba smoke every day.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | . | . | . |
| Daily | 10.9 | 14.9 | 6.6 |
| Occasional | 1.9 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
| St Eustatius | . | . | . |
| Daily | 4.9 | 7.3 | 2.4 |
| Occasional | 2.6 | 4.2 | 1.0 |
| Saba | . | . | . |
| Daily | 8.6 | 9.2 | 8.1 |
| Occasional | 5.4 | 9.0 | 2.0 |
| . | . | . |
Definitions
Smokers
Percentage share of the population aged 15 years and over who answered ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Do you ever smoke?’
Daily smokers
Percentage share of the population aged 15 years and over who answered ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Do you smoke every day?’
Occasional smokers
Percentage share of the population aged 15 years and over that answered ‘yes’ to the question: ‘do you smoke occasionally?’ and ‘no’ to the question: ‘Do you smoke every day?’
More information about smoking and lifestyle in the Caribbean Netherlands