The number of men smoking tobacco has fallen for the first time in at least 19 years, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Men account for eight of every 10 smokers worldwide.
Global tobacco use has fallen from about 1.4 billion people in 2000 to around 1.3 billion people in 2018, according to the WHO report, which covers combustible products in the period 2000–2025.
The decline has been largely driven by reductions in the number of females using these products (from 346 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2018).
Over the same period, male tobacco use had risen by around 40 million, from 1.05 billion in 2000 to 1.09 billion in 2018.
The new report shows that the number of male tobacco users has stopped growing and is projected to decline by more than 1 million by 2020 and by 5 million by 2025.
By 2020, the WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018 and another 27 million fewer by 2025. Some 60 percent of countries have been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010, according to its report.
WHO officials hailed the findings as a turning point in the fight against tobacco.
“For many years now, we had witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products. But now, for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO attributes the decline in tobacco consumption to anti-smoking measures, such as advertising bans, health warnings and tax hikes.
Despite the gains, the WHO noted that progress in meeting the global target set by governments to cut tobacco use by 30 percent by 2025 remains off track. Based on current progress, a 23 percent reduction will be achieved by 2025.
“The work is not yet done,” said Vinayak Prasad, head of the WHO’s tobacco control unit. “Without stepped up national action, the projected fall in tobacco use still won’t meet global reduction targets. We must never let up in the fight against Big Tobacco.”
The WHO report covers cigarettes, pipes, cigars, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco and heated-tobacco products. Electronic cigarettes are not covered in the report.