In 2023, 2.7 billion people worldwide were still exposed to secondhand smoke.

In 2023, approximately 2.71 billion people worldwide were exposed to secondhand smoke, meaning the smoke from the products themselves, as well as the exhalations of smokers and the toxic particles released, which can be inhaled and absorbed for weeks. This data comes from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 study, published in the scientific journal The Lancet Public Health. The study, conducted in 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023, analyzes exposure by age and sex. The authors also reviewed the scientific literature on this topic from 2010 to 2025. Despite a decrease in age-standardized prevalence since 1990, the absolute number of people affected remains high, particularly among children aged 0 to 14, with 767 million exposed. The health burden is estimated at 1.66 million deaths annually and 44.8 million years of healthy life lost or lived with disability. Active and passive smoking still killed 8 million people each year in 2023.