Smoking: A Global Overview
By 2022 the smoking prevalence rate for males was more than four times the rate for females
Humankind has been using tobacco for millennia, and today there are one billion adult smokers across the globe.[1] Global smoking rates are at their lowest in decades and the volume of cigarettes consumed globally on an annual basis has reduced by 18% over the last decade.
In 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 21.7% of the world’s population aged 15 years or older used tobacco: 35.5% of men and 7.9% of women. Projections to 2030 see further reductions in tobacco use rates. However, WHO predicts that around 18.1% of the world’s population will still use tobacco.[2]
Prevalence of tobacco use amongst men and women has changed over the past two decades. In 2000, the proportion of males using any form of tobacco was three times greater than the proportion of female consumers. The decline in prevalence among female adult smokers has been greater than males. By 2022 the rate for males was more than four times the rate for females (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Global tobacco smoking prevalence has declined continually since 2000 [2]
Global tobacco smoking prevalence has declined continually since 2000
1 billion
adult smokers across the globe[1]
>70%
of global tobacco use is cigarette smoking
20%
of tobacco is consumed as Oral Tobacco Products
Change in prevalence by country, 1990-2019
Figure 2.
While the proportion of the global smoking population is declining, the total number of adult smokers has remained at around one billion smokers since 1990,[3,4] due to an overall rise in the global population. China and countries in both Africa and the Western Pacific regions have seen the greatest increases in the number of adult smokers over the last three decades (Figure 2).[3]
Now over 80% of the 1 billion adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.
The most common form of tobacco use is cigarette smoking at 71.5% of total tobacco use. Other smoking products (cigars, pipes, shisha, bidis, kreteks and other locally smoked tobacco products) represent a further 8.5% of the total. The remaining 20% of tobacco is consumed as Oral Tobacco Products (chewing tobacco, snus).[5]
Reasons People Like Smoking
The motivations for smoking can be grouped into three types:
- Nicotine Pharmacology: the pleasurable and Central Nervous System (CNS) effects of nicotine.
- Sensorial: the olfactory and gustatory characteristics of the product, inclusive of mechanical aspects.
- Ritual: the behaviours and practices surrounding product usage.
Figure 3. Reasons people like smoking
Pharmacology
Relaxation
Nicotine CNS effect
Perceived improved cognition
Pleasure
Stress management
Sensorial
Gustatory
Throat irritation
Mouthfeel
Draw resistance
Throat impact
Nicotine CNS effect
Mouthful
Trigeminal effect
Olfactory
Ritual
Social interaction
Unwrapping
Smelling
Inhaling
Hand to mouth action
Puffing
Burn down
Tobacco
Lighting
Exhaling
Sources
[1] World Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products. 2021. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/node/82149 (Accessed: 22 July 2024)
[2] World Health Organization, WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2030. 2024. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/375711/9789240088283-eng.pdf?sequence=1
[3] Reitsma, M.B., et al., Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet, 2021. 397(10292): p. 2337-2360 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01169-7
[4] World Health Organization, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products. 2021. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/node/82149 (Accessed: 22 July 2024)
[5] Word Health Organization, WHO report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use. 2024. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/375711/9789240088283-eng.pdf?sequence=1
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Smokeless Products: An Introduction -
01. Our Vision: A Need for Reappraisal -
02. The Big Questions -
03. Impact of Smoking -
04. Our Smokeless Science -
05. Our Smokeless Products -
06. THR: A Global Transformation -
07. THR: Global Regulation -
08. THR: Scientific Engagement -
09. Our Future Outlook -
10. References -
11. Our Published THR Science
