Who estimates that at least 15 million adolescents use electronic cigarettes worldwide
At least 15 million people aged 13 to 15 use electronic cigarettes worldwide, with young people on average nine times more likely to vape than adults in countries with data, the World Health Organization announced on Monday.
In its first global estimate of the use of electronic cigarettes, WHO said that more than 100 million people worldwide vapoted, including at least 86 million adults, mainly in high -income countries.
The figures come as global tobacco consumption continues to drop, the number of tobacco users falling to 1.2 billion in 2024, against 1.38 billion in 2000.
As increasingly strict regulations help reduce tobacco consumption, industry has turned to alternative products such as vapes to help compensate for sales cuts.
Tobacco companies say they target adult smokers, aimed at helping them stop and reduce the prejudice of traditional tobacco.
But electronic cigarettes lead a “new wave of nicotine dependence,” said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO department for determinants of health, promotion and prevention.
“They are marketed as a reduction in misdeeds but, in reality, hang children to nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”
Governments and health authorities are struggling with the way to balance the potential advantages and risks of electronic cigarettes, namely adoption by new nicotine users.
On the other hand, some research has revealed that electronic cigarettes are effective in helping smokers leave.
A review in 2024 of Cochrane evidence, a non -profit network of health researchers, revealed that smokers were more likely to succeed in quitting smoking with electronic cigarettes than traditional patches or gums.
But he also warned that more data was necessary and the long -term health effects have remained clear.
The drop in traditional tobacco consumption varied strongly depending on the region. The prevalence of male tobacco in Southeast Asia almost halved at 37% in 2024, compared to 70% in 2000, representing more than half of the world decline.
Europe now has the highest prevalence of tobacco worldwide at 24.1%, its women engaged in the greatest consumption of female tobacco in the world at 17.4%.
The WHO has warned that almost one in the world in the world still use tobacco products and has called to a stronger application tobacco control measures and the regulation of new nicotine products such as vapes.
