The new WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use shows that amid the global crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are continuing to successfully tackle the tobacco epidemic. Countries have not been distracted, but instead have made strong headway in protecting their populations from the harms of tobacco. The report notes that 150 countries globally are seeing declining tobacco use rates:
- In 60 countries the rates of tobacco use are declining at a speed which allows them to reach the ambitious target of a 30% relative reduction in tobacco use over the period 2010¬–2025. The number of countries on track for the target has almost doubled since 2019.
- Countries at all income levels are making progress and getting on track to meet targets.
- While tobacco use rates are declining globally, population growth is preventing the rate reductions from translating into reduced numbers of users in half of the WHO regions. The rate reductions need to be more dramatic to halt this trend.
Key findings relevant to the WHO European Region
- Overall: an estimated 180 million people in the European Region are current tobacco users. The average rate of tobacco use is 25%, which is above the global average of 22%.
- Men: the rate of tobacco use among men is 33%, which represents 117 million male tobacco users.
- Women: WHO estimates that there are about 63 million female tobacco users in the European Region, which corresponds to an 18% rate of tobacco use.
- Children: WHO estimates that almost 14% of boys and 12% of girls aged 13–15 in the Region are current tobacco users. This is above the global averages for boys (13%) and for girls (7%).
- 30% reduction target: 87% of countries in the European Region are seeing tobacco use decline, and 20% (11 countries) are on track to reach the target. One country is still experiencing increasing rates of tobacco use – Republic of Moldova. Four countries in the Region have insufficient data to know the trend.
Gender-sensitive response is needed
Women in the European Region are the slowest in the world to cut tobacco use. The European Region is the only WHO region not on track to reduce tobacco use rates among women by at least 30% by 2025. With the global rate of tobacco use in 2020 among women at 8%, the rate in the European Region (18%) is substantially higher than in any other WHO region.
Tobacco use reductions among men are also proving difficult to achieve. Even in countries where tobacco control is at an advanced level, there are people left behind – particularly those from marginalized groups. A gender-sensitive and equity-sensitive response is therefore needed.
Comprehensive approach
One-third of people who use tobacco in the world are not cigarette smokers. Some of them use other products, such as cigars, pipes, water pipes and heated tobacco products; and many of them are using chewed, sucked or nasal tobacco, broadly classified as smokeless tobacco. Consequently, tobacco control policies need to account for the different types of tobacco being used in each country in order to tackle the problem fully.
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
Tobacco remains a leading cause of premature death and kills more than 8 million people a year globally. Although the downward trend in tobacco use is encouraging, regional gains are uneven. Accelerated implementation of proven tobacco control measures as enshrined in the WHO FCTC, needs to remain a priority and an important pillar of public health.