One in five adults still addicted to tobacco — WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed that one in five people still suffers from a tobacco addiction, indicating that the tobacco epidemic is far from ended.

In its new global report, WHO said the world is smoking less, with the number of tobacco users dropping from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, but e-cigarette use is now alarming because more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping.

The findings of the new report titled “WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030” are based on 2034 national surveys, covering 97 per cent of the global population.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that millions of people are stopping, or not taking up, tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world.

Ghebreyesus declared, “In response to this strong progress, the tobacco industry is fighting back with new nicotine products, aggressively targeting young people. Governments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco control policies.”

The number of tobacco users has decreased by 120 million since 2010, which is a 27 per cent decrease in relative terms. However, one in five people globally still use tobacco, which contributes to millions of avoidable deaths annually.

According to the report, while there has been a steady decline in tobacco use for both men and women across all age groups during 2000–2024, women have been leading the charge to quit tobacco.

They hit the global reduction target for 2025 five years early, reaching the 30 per cent milestone back in 2020. Prevalence of tobacco use among women dropped from 11 per cent in 2010 to just 6.6 per cent in 2024, with the number of female tobacco users falling from 277 million in 2010 to 206 million in 2024.

By contrast, men are not expected to reach the goal until 2031. Today, more than four out of five tobacco users worldwide are men, with just under 1 billion men still using tobacco. While prevalence among men has fallen from 41.4 per cent in 2010 to 32.5 per cent in 2024, the pace of change is too slow.

The report said that the prevalence of tobacco use is the lowest in Africa globally at 9.5 per cent in 2024, and the region is on track to meet the 30 per cent target. However, because of population growth, the absolute number of tobacco users continues to rise.

In addition, the report, which is the first to estimate global e-cigarette use, said e-cigarette use is now alarming because more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping.

At least 86 million adults, mostly in high-income countries, are now vaping, while at least 15 million children (13–15 years) are already using e-cigarettes.

In addition, in countries with data, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape.

In a remark, Jeremy Farrar, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Care, stated, “Nearly 20 per cent of adults still use tobacco and nicotine products. We cannot let up now. The world has made gains, but stronger, faster action is the only way to beat the tobacco epidemic.”

The UN body’s recommendation, according to the report, is for governments everywhere to step up tobacco control by fully implementing and enforcing the MPOWER package and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, closing loopholes that allow the tobacco and nicotine industries to target children, and regulating new nicotine products like e-cigarettes.

WHO said fully implementing and enforcing these policies will also mean raising tobacco taxes, banning advertising, and expanding cessation services so that millions more people can quit.

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