Number of Adult Tobacco Smokers by WHO Region

Number of Adult Tobacco Smokers by WHO Region

Knowledge•Action•Change (2020)

- Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020

Number of Adult Tobacco Smokers by WHO Region
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Smoking is not disappearing. There are as many smokers in 2020 as there were in 2000, when it was estimated that there were 1.1 billion smokers. The WHO projects that it will remain at around 1.1 billion until at least 2025. Population growth has offset the decline in the proportion of smokers in the population.

Some regions now have more smokers than in 2000 and are projected to have even more by 2025, including the African, Eastern Mediterranean, and South East Asian Regions, as shown in this graphic. The absolute number of smokers is declining in the European region, the Western Pacific and the Americas.

See also p.29 of the report: Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020