Despite the pandemic, progress in global tobacco control is "considerable," says WHO

A report from the World Health Organization shows positive progress in the fight against tobacco use internationally, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the WHO, while this downward trend is encouraging, it remains uneven across regions. Thus, accelerating the implementation of proven measures outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) must be a "priority and an important pillar of public health."[1].

According to the WHO, global public policies have not turned away from the fight against tobacco use, but have instead made "considerable progress," leading to a reduction in tobacco use in 150 countries worldwide.

A decrease in prevalence, but not in the number of users

In 60 countries, the dynamics of tobacco consumption will allow them to achieve a target of reducing the prevalence of 30% between 2010 and 2025. The number of countries able to achieve this public health objective has doubled since 2019. However, while the smoking rate is decreasing, population growth prevents this decrease in prevalence from translating into a decrease in the number of users. According to the WHO, it is necessary to intensify the reduction of tobacco prevalence to reverse this trend. Furthermore, the fight against tobacco must have a comprehensive approach to tobacco consumption patterns. Indeed, according to the report, a third of tobacco users are not cigarette smokers, and prefer alternative consumption methods (cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, snus, etc.).

In Europe, a mixed situation

In the WHO European Region, approximately 180 million people currently smoke, with an average smoking prevalence of 25%, three percentage points above the global average smoking rate. This figure hides significant gender disparities: in Europe, 18% of women currently smoke, compared to 33% of men. However, women in Europe are the slowest in the world to reduce their smoking, while the European region is the only one poorly positioned to reduce women's consumption by 30% by 2025. For this reason, the WHO highlights the need to further integrate gender issues into anti-tobacco policiesThe situation for younger generations is also worse than the global situation. It is estimated that around 141,000 boys and 121,000 girls in Europe are smokers today.

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[1] World Health Organization, WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025, fourth edition, 11/16/2021, (accessed 12/21/2021)