Addicted in Europe

From The Economist: The Greeks puffed away more than any other nation, smoking over 3,000 cigarettes per head of population in 2006, according to ERC, a market-research group. It compares annual consumption in 120 countries, which together account for over 95% of global consumption. Spain, another Mediterranean country, also smokes heavily, but it is the traditionally poorer eastern European countries that dominate the top 15. Rich Japan is the lone non-European nation.

Although the U.S. is not listed in the graph above, according to this report per capita cigarette consumption in the U.S. was 61.1 packs in 2006, or 1,222 cigarettes per person. In that case, the U.S. would be way below the lowest ranked country above (Poland).