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Ahead of World No Tobacco Day (May 31), new research shows that nicotine use in Czechia is still widespread—especially among teens—and some worry the country’s famously smoky culture hasn’t cleared the air as much as it should.
Yes, there’s been progress. A nationwide indoor smoking ban in restaurants and bars has been in place since 2017. And in 2023, the government cracked down further, banning nicotine pouch sales to minors and flavored heated tobacco products designed to appeal to young users.
Still, the numbers paint a hazy picture. According to the latest national survey, 22.4 percent of adults smoked tobacco in 2023, and nearly half of young Czechs used nicotine products—from cigarettes to vapes and pouches. E-cigarette use has nearly tripled in the past five years, and more than 1 in 5 fifteen-year-olds now use nicotine in some form.
The country's long-standing relationship with tobacco runs deep. From cheap state-made cigarettes under communism to a flood of Western brands after 1989, smoking became widely culturally accepted. Former presidents like Miloš Zeman (famous for smoking up to 60 cigarettes a day) and Václav Havel, as well as iconic figures like author Bohumil Hrabal and Vladimír Menšík, were all heavy smokers.
Czechia still ranks among the EU’s top smokers, behind Austria, Slovakia, and Germany, but ahead of Poland, with almost 20 percent of people saying they light up at least once daily.
Is Czechia still a smoker’s paradise? We want your take. Are you a smoker, a former smoker, or sick of secondhand smoke? Take our poll and share your experience living with (or without) tobacco in Czechia.
