According to the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), its European regional office, WHO Regional Office for Europe, has published 10 new factsheets on tobacco use, warning that the Region remains on track to hold the world’s highest tobacco use prevalence by 2030.
Covering 53 countries across Europe and Central Asia, the Region shows strong foundations in tobacco control but continues to face critical gaps. The data, drawn from the 10th WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, highlight uneven policy implementation and a rapidly evolving nicotine market that current regulations are struggling to address.
“Tobacco use already causes over 1.1 million deaths from noncommunicable diseases in the European Region each year – and without accelerated action, we will remain the worst-performing region in the world by 2030,”
said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. He emphasized the urgent need to protect young people from nicotine addiction, prevent industry interference in public health policy, and enforce stronger regulations.
The Region is the only WHO region not expected to meet the global target of a 30% reduction in tobacco use among women by 2025. Instead, it is projected to achieve only a 12% reduction between 2010 and 2025. More than 40% of the world’s adult female smokers — approximately 62 million women — live in this Region. Girls aged 13–15 in Europe now have the highest tobacco use prevalence among girls worldwide.
Adolescent use is also a growing concern. Around 4 million young people aged 13–15 across the Region use tobacco products. E-cigarette use is even more alarming: at 14.3%, adolescents in the Region have the highest average e-cigarette prevalence globally, with nearly equal rates among boys and girls. WHO officials attribute this trend in part to flavored products and targeted social media marketing.
Among adults, the Region has the second-highest e-cigarette use prevalence globally, with an estimated 31.4 million users.
While most countries maintain strong tobacco monitoring systems and require large health warnings on packaging, other measures lag behind. Only 18 of 53 countries have comprehensive smoke-free laws covering all public spaces. Just 12 countries offer national quit lines and cover the cost of cessation services. Comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and promotion exist in only 13 countries. In 19 countries, cigarettes are more affordable today than they were in 2014.
Regulation of e-cigarettes and other emerging nicotine products remains fragmented, weakening broader tobacco control efforts.
WHO is urging Member States to close these policy gaps, strengthen enforcement, fulfill obligations under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and extend tobacco control frameworks to new and emerging products — before current trends translate into an even greater public health burden for the next generation.