Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 6, 2025 Healthcare
Europe has become the world leader in tobacco smoking rates: 24.1 percent of adults in the region used tobacco in 2024. Europe also has the highest smoking prevalence among women – 17.4 percent. This is according to a new global report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the WHO, despite the decline in the number of smokers globally, the tobacco epidemic is far from over. The number of tobacco users worldwide has declined from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024. Since 2010, this number has decreased by 120 million people, or 27 percent. However, one in five adults worldwide remains dependent on tobacco, resulting in millions of preventable deaths annually.
Millions of people quit or never started using tobacco thanks to countries' efforts to combat tobacco addiction" , said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "In response to this progress, the tobacco industry is fighting back, introducing new nicotine products and aggressively targeting young people. Governments need to act faster and more decisively to implement proven tobacco control measures."
New products of the tobacco industry
For the first time, the WHO has assessed the global spread of e-cigarettes, and the figures are alarming: more than 100 million people worldwide already vape.
There are at least 86 million adult users, most of whom live in high-income countries. Among adolescents (13-15 years old), there are at least 15 million, and in countries where data is available, children are, on average, nine times more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults.
According to WHO, the tobacco industry continues to introduce new products and technologies – electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco and other products that are harmful to people’s health, especially young people and teenagers.
"E-cigarettes are fueling a new wave of nicotine addiction," noted Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department of Health Determinants, Promotion, and Prevention. "They are promoted as a means of harm reduction, but in reality, they are introducing children to nicotine even earlier and threatening to undo decades of progress."
Women quit smoking faster than men
Although tobacco consumption has steadily declined among both men and women of all ages from 2000 to 2024, women are leading the way in quitting. This population group achieved the global target of reducing consumption by 30 percent by 2025 five years earlier, in 2020. Smoking prevalence among women fell from 11 percent in 2010 to 6.6 percent in 2024, and the number of female tobacco users decreased from 277 million to 206 million.
Men, on the other hand, won't reach the target until 2031. Today, more than 80 percent of the world's tobacco users are men, and there are still nearly 1 billion of them. Although prevalence among men has declined from 41.4 percent in 2010 to 32.5 percent in 2024, the rate of decline remains too slow.
Picture by region
Southeast Asia: Once the global smoking hotspot, male tobacco prevalence has fallen by almost half here, from 70 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2024; the region accounts for more than half of the global decline in smoking rates. Africa: has the lowest prevalence of any region, 9.5 percent in 2024; the region is on track to meet the global target, but the absolute number of tobacco users continues to rise due to population growth. Americas: The region has achieved a relative reduction of 36 percent, with smoking prevalence falling to 14 percent in 2024, although insufficient data are still available for an estimate in several countries. Eastern Mediterranean: Prevalence is 18 percent, with further increases in some countries. Western Pacific: 22.9 percent of adults use tobacco in 2024, down from 25.8 percent in 2010; progress is the slowest. While prevalence among women is low (2.5 percent), men remain the world's leading smokers, at 43.3 percent.
Call to action
WHO calls on governments to strengthen tobacco control by fully implementing and enforcing the MPOWER package of measures and WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, eliminate loopholes that allow the industry to influence children, and regulate new nicotine products, including e-cigarettes. The organization recommends raising tobacco taxes, banning advertising, and expanding smoking cessation programs.
"Nearly 20 percent of adults still use tobacco and nicotine products. We can't let up on our efforts now," emphasized Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General for Public Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, and Control. "The world has made some progress, but only more decisive and accelerated action will help defeat the tobacco epidemic."
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