Vaping among young people reaches record levels – Europe remains world leader in smoking

More than 100 million people worldwide now vape, including around 15 million teenagers aged 13 to 15. This is according to the first global estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), which found that young people vape up to nine times more often than adults on average.

The WHO also points out that despite the decline in conventional tobacco consumption – from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion users last year – the risk of nicotine addiction from alternative products is increasing.

Although e-cigarette manufacturers claim that their products help adults quit smoking, the WHO warns that vaping mainly attracts young people and could jeopardize the long-standing successes in the fight against smoking.

While some studies, such as the 2024 Cochrane Review, suggest that vaping is more effective for quitting, the long-term health consequences remain unclear.

While tobacco use among men in Southeast Asia has fallen from 70 percent at the beginning of the millennium to 37 percent last year, Europe remains the region with the highest tobacco use, at 24.1 percent.

(reuters, max)