WHO Warns of ‘Generational Crisis’ as E-Cigarette Use Threatens Decades of Tobacco Control Gains

Since 2010, the number of tobacco users has dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, a relative decline of 27%, however, the growing popularity of e-cigarettes threatens to undo these gains, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in its latest report.

“Over 100 million people worldwide are now using e-cigarettes, with at least 86 million users — predominantly adults in high-income countries,” the WHO sounded alarm in its first-of-its-kind report on e-cigarettes prevalence in the society.

Most concerning is the estimated 15 million children aged 13 to 15 who are already vaping. In countries where data is available, children are on average nine times more likely to vape than adults, it said.

“This is not just a public health issue — it is a generational crisis in the making,” said the report “WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2025: warning about the dangers of tobacco.”

It blamed the trend on the tobacco industry, noting that it is aggressively countering decades of global tobacco control progress by pushing a new generation of nicotine products. Though the number of tobacco users have declined, the toxic item continues to claim millions of lives annually, new nicotine-laced products are posing health threats.

“Millions of people are stopping, or not taking up, tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“However, in response to this strong progress, the tobacco industry is fighting back with new nicotine products, aggressively targeting young people. Governments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco control policies.”

The WHO report criticised the tobacco industry's introduction of e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products as part of a broader strategy to maintain addiction. These products, often marketed under the guise of harm reduction, are creating a new wave of nicotine dependency, particularly among the youth.

“The tobacco industry is introducing an incessant chain of new products and technologies for its aim to market tobacco addiction with not just cigarettes but also e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco products among others, which all harm people’s health, and more worryingly the health of new generations, youth and adolescents.

“E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” said Etienne Krug, WHO Director of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention Department. “They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”

While there has been a steady decline in tobacco use for both men and women across all age-groups during 2000-2024, women have been leading the charge to quit tobacco.

They hit the global reduction target for 2025 five years early, reaching the 30% milestone back in 2020. Prevalence of tobacco use among women dropped from 11% in 2010 to just 6.6% in 2024, with the number of female tobacco users falling from 277 million in 2010 to 206 million in 2024.

By contrast, men are not expected to reach the goal until 2031. Today, more than four out of five tobacco users worldwide are men, with just under 1 billion men still using tobacco. While prevalence among men has fallen from 41.4% in 2010 to 32.5% in 2024, the pace of change is too slow, noted the report.