Published today, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has found that tobacco use is declining across the globe.
The findings show that one in five adults worldwide are consuming tobacco – a significant decline from one in three in 2000.
It also highlighted that some 150 countries are successfully reducing tobacco use. Brazil and the Netherlands have seen a particularly notable reduction, with a 35% reduction in Brazil since 2010, and the Netherlands soon to reach a 30% reduction.
As a result, WHO has urged countries to continue to implement tobacco control policies and fight against tobacco industry interference.
Despite the decline, the report also highlights that the prevalence of tobacco in some countries has not changed since 2010. In addition, six countries are seeing an increase in tobacco use, namely Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Oman and Republic of Moldova.
WHO has stressed that the world is on track for a 25% relative reduction in 2025 – this means the voluntary global goal of a 30% reduction from the 2010 baseline will not be achieved. The report shows that just 56 countries will reach the goal, which is four less than was stated in the 2021 report.
‘More work ahead’
These findings come from WHO’s Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000–2030, which outlines the latest trends in tobacco use prevalence worldwide.
According to WHO, the report findings bring ‘good news’, but they also emphasise that there is ‘more work ahead’ to reach the global voluntary target.
Ruediger Krech is director of WHO department of health promotion. He said: ‘Good progress has been made in tobacco control in recent years, but there is no time for complacency.
‘I’m astounded at the depths the tobacco industry will go to pursue profits at the expense of countless lives.
‘We see that the minute a government thinks they have won the fight against tobacco the tobacco industry seizes the opportunity to manipulate health policies and sell their deadly products.’
This comes after the news that New Zealand’s new government plans to scrap the nation’s smoking ban to help fund tax cuts.
Introduced by the government led by Jacinda Adern last year, the ban was due to come into affect in July 2024. However, the country’s new coalition government led by Christopher Luxon announced that it will be scrapped by March 2024.
With smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, the legislation would have banned cigarette sales to anyone born after 1 January 2009. In addition, the ban sought to prevent young generations from picking up a smoking habit, and research showed it could have saved 5,000 lives each year.
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