In 2020, 16.5 percent of adult Dutch people smoked, now that is 15.4 percent. Nevertheless, the challenge remains great: Rotterdam leads the list with 20.5 percent smoking adults. Also Amsterdam (19.9 percent), Groningen (19 percent) and Heerlen (18.4 percent) are well above the national average. The top ten is further supplemented by Tilburg, Kerkrade, Arnhem, Utrecht, Tiel and Vlaardingen. Between 17 and 18 percent of the inhabitants still smoke there.
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The image in Rozendaal, a small municipality in Gelderland, is very different, where only 4.4 percent of adults smoke. Alphen-Chaam in Noord-Brabant (5.1 percent) and Mook and Middelaar in Limburg (5.5 percent) are also among the lowest smoking figures.
More Vapers
Although the number of smokers is decreasing, the use of the e-cigarette increases considerably. The share of adults that Vapet has been almost doubled in four years, from 2.2 to 4.2 percent. That amounts to more than 300,000 extra users. De-Sigaret was initially presented as a less harmful alternative to tobacco, because no tar is released. However, recent research shows that Vapen also contains harmful substances.
Stoptober
The Stoptober campaign must help smokers to stop definitively. During this month, thousands of Dutch people do not try to smoke for 28 days together, a period that, according to experts, can often make a difference.
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Zorgexpert Youri van der Avoird from Independer emphasizes that free help is available. A stop-smoking program is fully reimbursed from the basic health insurance, including medicines and nicotine replacement agents such as plasters and chewing gum. These costs are not at the expense of the deductible.