Despite smoking decline, tobacco still hooks one in 5 adults globally

• The world is smoking less, but the tobacco epidemic is far from over. 

• A new WHO global report shows the number of tobacco users has dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024. 

• Since 2010, the number of people using tobacco has dropped by 120 million — a 27 per cent  drop in relative terms. 

• Tobacco use has fallen from 26.2 per cent in 2010 to 19.5 per cent in 2024.

• Yet, tobacco still hooks one in five adults worldwide, fuelling millions of preventable deaths every year.

More women are quitting tobacco than men

• While there has been a steady decline in tobacco use for both men and women across all age-groups during 2000-2024, women have been leading the charge to quit tobacco. 

• They hit the global reduction target for 2025 five years early, reaching the 30 per cent milestone back in 2020. 

• Prevalence of tobacco use among women dropped from 11 per cent in 2010 to just 6.6 per cent in 2024, with the number of female tobacco users falling from 277 million in 2010 to 206 million in 2024.

• By contrast, men are not expected to reach the goal until 2031. Today, more than four out of five tobacco users worldwide are men, with just under one billion men still using tobacco. 

• While prevalence among men has fallen from 41.4 per cent in 2010 to 32.5 per cent in 2024, the pace of change is too slow.

• In Southeast Asia, once the world’s biggest regional hotspot, tobacco use among men nearly halved — from 70 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent last year. That region alone accounted for over half of the global decline.

• In 2024, Europeans accounted for the largest number of smokers, followed by the Western Pacific, while the lowest prevalence of tobacco use was in Africa.

Alarming numbers in e-cigarette users

• The tobacco industry is introducing an incessant chain of new products and technologies for its aim to market tobacco addiction with not just cigarettes but also e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco products among others, which all harm people’s health, and more worryingly the health of new generations, youth and adolescents.

• For the first time, WHO has estimated global e-cigarette use – and the numbers are alarming: more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping. 

This includes:

i) Adults: At least 86 million users, mostly in high-income countries.

ii) Adolescents: At least 15 million children (13–15 years) already using e-cigarettes. In countries with data, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape.

• WHO is calling on governments to close those loopholes which allow the industry to target the next generation and regulate e-cigarettes and other nicotine products.

Actions needed

• WHO is urging governments everywhere to step up tobacco control. This means fully implementing and enforcing the MPOWER package and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, closing loopholes that allow the tobacco and nicotine industries to target children, and regulating new nicotine products like e-cigarettes. 

• It also means raising tobacco taxes, banning advertising, and expanding cessation services so that millions more people can quit.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)

• It is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. The WHO FCTC was adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003 and entered into force on February 27, 2005. 

• Since its entry into force in 2005, this international treaty has become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history. 

• To date, 180 countries globally have ratified the WHO FCTC, including 50 WHO European Member States.

Indian govt’s initiatives to control tobacco use

The Indian government has taken a series of measures to deter people from consuming various tobacco products, including imported cigarettes.

They are:

1) Enactment of the “Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, (COTPA) 2003”.

2) Ratification of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

3) Launch of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007-08, with the objectives to: 

a) Create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

b) Reduce the production and supply of tobacco products.

c) Ensure effective implementation of the anti-tobacco laws.

d) Help the people quit tobacco use through Tobacco Cessation Centres.

4) Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Act (PECA), 2019 to protect the masses from the health hazards attributable to  consumption of e-cigarettes and similar devices.

• The enforcement of provisions of COTPA, 2003 and PECA, 2019 primarily lies with the states/Union Territories.

• The states/UTs undertake drives for enforcement of COTPA, 2003 from time to time.

• Enforcement efforts are also monitored by the State Tobacco Control Cells (STCCs) and District Tobacco Control Cells (DTCCs).

Extending tobacco control policies to digital platforms

• India has implemented stringent measures to curb TAPS (tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship) across all forms of media, including television, radio, print and digital platforms. 

• To restrict depictions of tobacco use in entertainment media, the government introduced the Tobacco-Free Films and Television Rules in 2012, focusing on traditional platforms like cinema and television.

• However, as more people shift towards using digital streaming platforms, India recognised the need to update its tobacco control policies. 

• Coinciding with World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2023, the government introduced an amendment to the 2012 legislation, extending its coverage to over-the-top (ott) streaming platforms. 

• With this move, India became the first country in the world to apply tobacco control regulations specifically to digital streaming content.

Key provisions of the 2023 Amendment include:

• Health spots: Anti-tobacco health spots lasting at least 30 seconds must be shown at both the beginning and middle of any programme displaying tobacco products or their use.

• Static warnings: A clear, static anti-tobacco health warning must be displayed at the bottom of the screen whenever tobacco products or usage appear.

• Audio-visual disclaimers: A disclaimer on the harms of tobacco use lasting a minimum of 20 seconds must be presented at the start and midpoint of the content.

• All warnings and messages must be delivered in the same language as the content to ensure maximum understanding and impact.