Men’s tobacco epidemic turns corner
The number of men using tobacco is declining globally for the first time in spite of population growth, indicating a shift in the global tobacco epidemic, according to the WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025 that was released in December.
The number of male tobacco users, which had previously been increasing, turned the corner in 2018 and is projected to decline each year from 2019, if tobacco control efforts are maintained.
Overall global tobacco use has fallen by about 60 million people, from 1.397 billion users in 2000 to 1.337 billion users in 2018.
This drop in tobacco use has been largely driven by reductions in women users: in 2018, 244 million women were using tobacco compared with 346 million women in 2000.
Over the same period, the number of male tobacco users increased by around 40 million, from 1.050 billion in 2000 to 1.093 billion in 2018, representing about 82% of the world’s current 1.337 billion tobacco users.
The new report shows, however, that the number of male tobacco users has stopped increasing and is projected to have declined by 2 million to 1.091 billion this year and by 5 million to 1.087 billion in 2025 as compared with the 2018 level.
By 2020, WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018, and another 27 million fewer by 2025. A total of 130 countries have been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010.
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