Number of male tobacco users declining- WHO

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization-WHO has projected that male tobacco users will decline by more than one million come 2020 and by five million by 2025.

The WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025 third edition notes that the number of male tobacco users globally stands at 1.093 billion which accounts for 82% of the world’s current 1.337 billion tobacco users.

Overall global tobacco use has fallen, from 1.397 billion in 2000 to 1.337 billion in 2018, or by approximately 60 million people, something attributed to immense reductions in the number of females using tobacco products from 346 million in 2000 down to 244 million in 2018.

The report covered use of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, water pipes, smokeless tobacco products and heated tobacco products excluding electronic cigarettes.

While reductions were being recorded among women, male tobacco use had risen by around 40 million from 1.050 billion in 2000 to 1.093 billion where use got stagnant at.

When it comes to children, the number of users stands at 43 million whereby 14million are girls aged between 13 and 15 years of age.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the fact male use of tobacco is on a decline is a turning point in the fight against the tobacco epidemic.

“For many years now we had witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products. But now, for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry. WHO will continue working closely with countries to maintain this downward trend”, he said.

By 2020, WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018, and another 27 million less by 2025, amounting to 1.299 billion. Some 60% of countries have been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010, the report notes.

With evidence showing a decline especially among men who are the overwhelming majority users of tobacco, Dr Vanayak Prasad, the head of the organization’s tobacco control unit says this finding can be used to accelerate efforts into reaching the global target of cutting tobacco use by 30% by 2025.

“Fewer people are using tobacco, which is a major step for global public health,” said Dr Prasad. “But the work is not yet done. Without stepped-up national action, the projected fall in tobacco use still won’t meet global reduction targets. We must never let up in the fight against Big Tobacco.”

Every year, WHO notes that more than 8 million people die from tobacco use, approximately half of its users. More than 7 million of those deaths are from direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

Most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where people succumb to diseases like lung cancer, heart disease and oesophageal cancer among others.

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