The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that second-hand smoke kills around 1.3 million people every year. This warning came in its new Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, launched at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin.
The report shows that while global efforts to fight tobacco use have made progress, the tobacco industry continues to interfere with health policies. WHO said stronger action is needed to protect people from the dangers of tobacco.
“Governments must act boldly to close remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the proven tools that save lives,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO’s Director of Health Promotion.
The report highlights the WHO’s six-part MPOWER strategy, which helps countries reduce tobacco use. These include:
- Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies
- Protecting people from tobacco smoke through smoke-free laws
- Offering help to quit
- Warning about the dangers of tobacco
- Enforcing bans on tobacco ads
- Raising taxes on tobacco products
So far, 155 countries have put at least one of these strategies into practice. Over 6.1 billion people—three-quarters of the world’s population—are now covered by at least one of these measures. In 2007, only one billion people were protected.
Four countries—Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye—have fully adopted all six MPOWER measures. Seven others, including Ethiopia, Ireland, and Mexico, are just one step away.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said, “Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so must we. Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic.”
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The report praised countries like Indonesia and Sierra Leone for passing new smoke-free laws since 2022, even in the face of opposition from the tobacco industry, especially in restaurants and bars.
However, WHO also warned of serious gaps. Forty countries still have no MPOWER measure in place at the best-practice level, and more than 30 still allow cigarette sales without health warnings on the packaging.
Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO’s Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases, said, “There has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go.”
According to the report, graphic health warnings on tobacco packs have been one of the most effective tools. But WHO said enforcement is often weak, and smokeless tobacco products still lack proper warning labels in many countries.
The report also revealed that 110 countries have not run anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022. However, the number of people living in countries with effective media campaigns has increased from 19% in 2022 to 36% today.
WHO urged countries to invest in strong, tested campaigns to educate the public.
“By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures,” said Dr Tedros.