One in Five Adults Still Addicted to Tobacco Despite Global Decline: WHO Report

The world is smoking less, but the tobacco epidemic remains a major global threat. A new World Health Organization (WHO) report shows that the number of tobacco users has fallen from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024. This marks a 27 percent decline since 2010, yet one in five adults worldwide still uses tobacco, causing millions of preventable deaths every year.

“Millions of people are stopping, or not taking up, tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 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, WHO has estimated global e-cigarette use, revealing more than 100 million people now vape. This includes 86 million adults, mostly in high-income countries, and 15 million adolescents aged 13 to 15. In countries with available data, children are nine times more likely than adults to use e-cigarettes.

According to WHO, the tobacco industry continues to introduce new products such as e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco to sustain addiction and attract young users. “E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” said Dr. Etienne Krug, WHO Director for Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention. “They are marketed as harm reduction but are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”

Globally, women are quitting tobacco faster than men. They reached the 30 percent global reduction target for 2025 five years early, in 2020. Female tobacco use fell from 11 percent in 2010 to 6.6 percent in 2024, dropping from 277 million to 206 million users. Men, however, are expected to reach the same target only by 2031, with nearly one billion still using tobacco.

WHO is urging governments to fully implement the MPOWER package and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This includes stricter regulation of new nicotine products, higher tobacco taxes, advertising bans, and better access to cessation services.

“Nearly 20 percent of adults still use tobacco and nicotine products,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Care. “Stronger, faster action is the only way to beat the tobacco epidemic.”