The World Health Organisation has raised concern over a rapid rise in vaping among teenagers, revealing that more than 15 million adolescents between 13 and 15 years are now using e-cigarettes globally.
According to the agency, adolescents are nine times more likely than adults to vape, a trend that is fuelling a fresh wave of nicotine addiction among young people.
The new findings are contained in the “WHO Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000–2024 and Projections 2025–2030”, which shows that over 100 million people worldwide currently use e-cigarettes. Out of this number, 86 million are adults, with most of them living in high-income countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused the tobacco industry of deliberately targeting young people to secure future markets.
“Millions of people are stopping, or not taking up, tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world,” he said.
“In response to this strong progress, the tobacco industry is fighting back with new nicotine products, aggressively targeting young people. Governments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco control policies.”
While the use of e-cigarettes is increasing, the report highlights that overall tobacco consumption is falling. The number of smokers has reduced from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, marking a 27 per cent decline since 2010.
Regional Trends
In South-East Asia, previously considered a global tobacco hotspot, smoking among men has nearly halved. Male smoking prevalence dropped from 70 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent in 2024, contributing to more than half of the global reduction.
Africa records the lowest prevalence globally at 9.5 per cent and is projected to meet the 30 per cent reduction target. However, the region’s population growth means the total number of users continues to rise.
The Americas have recorded a 36 per cent drop in prevalence, which now stands at 14 per cent. Europe currently has the highest overall tobacco use at 24.1 per cent, with European women recording the highest prevalence among women globally at 17.4 per cent.
WHO noted that women have made significant progress in quitting tobacco, achieving the global reduction target for 2025 five years earlier. “Women have been leading the charge to quit tobacco. They hit the global reduction target for 2025 five years early, reaching the 30 per cent milestone back in 2020,” said WHO.
The prevalence among women has declined from 11 per cent in 2010 to 6.6 per cent in 2024. The number of female tobacco users fell from 277 million in 2010 to 206 million in 2024.
Men, however, continue to account for the majority of tobacco users worldwide. “Men are not expected to reach the goal until 2031. Today, more than four out of five tobacco users worldwide are men, with just under 1 billion men still using tobacco. While prevalence among men has fallen from 41.4 per cent in 2010 to 32.5 per cent in 2024, the pace of change is too slow,” said WHO.
Call for Stronger Action
The agency urged governments to tighten control measures and close policy gaps that allow the tobacco and nicotine industries to target minors.
“This means fully implementing and enforcing the MPOWER package and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, closing loopholes that allow the tobacco and nicotine industries to target children, and regulating new nicotine products like e-cigarettes,” said WHO.
“It also means raising tobacco taxes, banning advertising, and expanding cessation services so that millions more people can quit.”