Europe, global leader in smoking - WHO report: 4 million adolescents use these products
The World Health Organization's European Region, which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, is projected to remain the world's largest consumer of tobacco through 2030, according to a new report. While overall tobacco use is declining, e-cigarettes and nicotine-flavored products are capturing a new generation.
“Tobacco use already causes over 1.1 million deaths from non-communicable diseases in the European Region each year and without accelerated action, we will remain the worst performing region in the world by 2030,” said Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
An estimated 173 million people in the WHO European Region were tobacco users in 2024.
"We have a responsibility to change course now: to protect young people from nicotine addiction, to prevent industry interference in health policy, and to enforce regulations that will prevent a lifetime of avoidable harm," he added.
Approximately four million adolescents aged 13 to 15 across the region use tobacco products. However, WHO identifies countering the growing use of e-cigarettes as the most urgent issue. Use is 14.3 percent among young people aged 13-15, with rates almost equal between boys and girls.
Among adults, the region has the second highest prevalence of e-cigarettes in the world, just behind the Americas, with an estimated 31.4 million users. The European region is the only one in the world not expected to meet the target of a 30 percent reduction in tobacco use among women by 2025. Available data only predict a 12 percent decline since 2010.
Over 40 percent of the world's adult female smokers – about 62 million women – live in the European Region, with a prevalence of 17.2 percent, almost double the second highest level of 9.1 percent in the Americas.
According to the WHO, the prevalence of e-cigarette use was higher among girls than boys. The WHO noted that only 18 of the 53 countries in the region have smoke-free laws covering all public spaces.
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