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Director of Health Promotion at the WHO, Dr Rüdiger Krech said that still 1.25 billion people smoke. That is 19 million fewer smokers than the world had two years ago.
Trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally. That year, 1 in 5 adults worldwide consumed tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000. Director of Health Promotion at the WHO, Dr Rüdiger Krech said that still 1.25 billion people smoke. That is 19 million fewer smokers than the world had two years ago.
Currently, the fastest decreases in tobacco use are happening in the lower middle-income group of countries whereas the highest prevalence of tobacco users is in the WHO South-East Asian region, however with fast falling rates.
The WHO region that currently has the lowest tobacco use prevalence is the African Region, which has already decreased from an average of 18% in 2000 to under 10 percent in 2022. WHO urges countries to continue putting in place tobacco control policies and continue to fight against tobacco industry interference.
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According to Krech, the region that is a bit of a problem is the European region where especially women are on the increase in some parts, in some countries, or at very high levels still of tobacco users. The report estimates that there are at least 37 million children aged 13-15 currently using some form of tobacco, and many countries have found alarming levels of e-cigarette use among adolescents as well.
Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke.
