The number of men who smoke and use tobacco has stopped rising and is on the turn for the first time. WHO reveals that the change in global smoking trends show that governments efforts to control tobacco are working to save lives, protect health and beat tobacco.
“Declines in tobacco use amongst males mark a turning point in the fight against tobacco”, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General.
He said for many years we had witnessed a steady rise in tobacco products and now for the first time seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry. He also promises to work closely with countries to maintain the downward trend.
WHO report states that the overall number of tobacco users have fallen to 1.337 billion people globally in 2018, from 1.397 billion in 2000.
The decline had previously largely been driven by fewer girls smoking, WHO says, with the number of male tobacco users rising by around 40 million between 2000 to 2018.
However, new findings reflect some positive light, with reports stating that there will be 1 million less male tobacco users by the year 2020. This is the first time that this number has decreased.
Some other key findings of the WHO report show that approximately 43 million children (aged 13-15) used tobacco in 2018. This includes 14 million girls.
Moreover, WHO report revealed that the number of women using tobacco in 2018 was 244 million. In addition, by 2025, WHO estimates that there will be 32 million fewer women tobacco users. And most gains are being made in low- and middle-income countries.
According to WHO report, more and more countries are implementing effective tobacco control measures which are having the desired effect of reducing tobacco use. Besides, tobacco taxes not only help reduce tobacco consumption and health-care costs, but also represent a revenue stream for financing for development in many countries.
Each year more than 8 million people die due to tobacco use. Of this, 1.2 million are non-smokers who die from being exposed to second-hand smoking.
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