Trends in 2022 showed that about one in five adults worldwide use tobacco, compared to one in three in 2000.
While cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide, other products include cigars, waterpipe tobacco, also known as hookah, and smokeless tobacco products, all of which are harmful.
The “tobacco epidemic” is one of the greatest public health threats the world has ever faced. killing more than eight million people a year, According to the WHO. More than seven million of these deaths are a consequence of direct tobacco consumption, but some 1.3 million non-smokers die from exposure to secondhand smoke.
Control measures working.
There are 1.25 billion tobacco users worldwide, according to the latest estimates, which revealed that 150 countries are successfully reducing rates among people aged 15 and over.
Examples include Brazil and the Netherlands, which are seeing the benefits of implementing an initiative known as MPOWER, focused on six tobacco control measures including protection, enforcement of advertising and sponsorship bans, increased taxes on tobacco products and helps people quit smoking.
As a result, Brazil has achieved a relative reduction of 35 percent since 2010 and the Netherlands is close to reaching the 30 percent target.
Benefit on people
Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of the WHO Health Promotion Department, praised the “good progress” made so far and warned against complacency.
“I am amazed at the lengths the tobacco industry will go to to make a profit. at the cost of countless lives. “We see that the moment a government believes it has won the fight against tobacco, the tobacco industry seizes the opportunity to manipulate health policies and sell its deadly products,” he stated.
The WHO urged countries to continue implementing tobacco control policies and to continue fighting tobacco industry interference, highlighting how it “continues to lie to the public,” including through front groups and third parties, sponsored events, influencers in social media, sponsored events and funding of biased scientists and research.
Prevalence by region
Southeast Asia currently has the highest percentage of the population using tobacco, at 26.5 percent, closely followed by Europe at 25.3 percent. Tobacco use rates among women in Europe are more than double the global average and are falling much more slowly than in all other regions.
The prevalence of tobacco use has changed little since 2010 in some countries, while it is increasing in six others: Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Oman and Moldova.
missing the target
The WHO said the world is on track to achieve a 25 percent relative reduction in tobacco use by 2025, below the voluntary global target of a 30 percent reduction from the 2010 baseline.
Only 56 countries will reach this goal, down from 60 since the last report three years ago.
With even more work ahead, the WHO called on countries to step up their actions, noting that efforts to protect health policies from further interference by the tobacco industry have failed around the world.
National surveys consistently show that children ages 13 to 15 in most countries use tobacco and nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes, the agency said.
