Global tobacco use declined, but the epidemic persisted The World Health Organisation's (WHO) 2025 report revealed that global tobacco use had declined significantly, with the number of users dropping from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024—a 27% relative decrease since 2010. Despite this progress, one in five adults worldwide still used tobacco, contributing to millions of preventable deaths. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated that millions had quit or avoided tobacco use due to strong national control efforts. However, the tobacco industry responded by promoting new nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches, aggressively... [Read more]