1 in 5 adults still hooked on tobacco despite global decline: WHO

GENEVA

The world is smoking less, but the tobacco epidemic is far from over, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report that shows one in five adults remains addicted to tobacco.

The report revealed that tobacco use has dropped from 1.38 billion people in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024. Since 2010, 120 million people have quit, a 27% relative decline. Yet millions continue to die each year from preventable tobacco-related diseases.

"Millions of people are stopping, or not taking up, tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general. "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."

For the first time, the WHO also estimated global e-cigarette use, finding more than 100 million users worldwide, including 15 million adolescents.

"E-cigarettes are fueling a new wave of nicotine addiction," warned Etienne Krug, WHO's director of health determinants, promotion, and prevention. "They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress."

The report also highlighted gender and regional disparities. Women have seen faster declines, reducing prevalence to 6.6% by 2024, while men, who make up more than 80% of tobacco users, are not expected to meet global reduction targets until 2031. Europe now has the world's highest overall prevalence at 24.1%.

The WHO urged governments to raise taxes, ban advertising, close regulatory loopholes, and expand cessation services.

"Nearly 20% of adult people still use tobacco and nicotine products. We cannot let up now," said Jeremy Farrar, the WHO’s assistant director-general.