Concerning Number of Individuals Now Use E-Cigarettes, Warns Global Health Body
Over 100 hundred million users, featuring at least 15 million children, presently employ e-cigarettes, driving a fresh trend of nicotine habit, per recent global public health reports.
Minors are, on average, nine times more likely than adults to engage in vaping, per available worldwide figures.
Vaping devices are driving a "recent wave" of nicotine addiction, commented a senior health expert. "They are advertised as damage limitation but, actually, are hooking children on nicotine at younger ages and endanger undermining generations of progress."
Adolescents Being 'Aimed At'
"Numerous of people are stopping, or not taking up tobacco usage because of tobacco control efforts by nations around the globe," the official stated.
"In response to this substantial improvement, the tobacco industry is pushing back with novel nicotine products, forcefully aiming at youth. Governments must act more rapidly and more vigorously in implementing proven tobacco-control policies," he added.
The vaping numbers are an estimate since some nations - 109 in sum, and several in African and Asian regions - lack statistics.
Based on the analysis, as of this past February this year, at minimum 86 million e-cigarette individuals were adults, mostly in high-income countries.
And at bare minimum 15 million adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 already use e-cigarettes, based on research from 123 countries.
Even though numerous countries have made efforts to implement e-cigarette policies to combat underage vaping in recent years, by the close of 2024, 62 states yet had no policy in operation, and 74 countries had no age limit at which e-cigarettes can be acquired, says the health authority.
Simultaneously, tobacco consumption has been decreasing - from an projected 1.38 billion users in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024.
Frequency of tobacco use among females fell the greatest - from 11% in 2010 to 6.6% in 2024.
With males, the reduction was from 41.4% in 2010 to 32.5% in 2024.
But 20% of mature individuals globally even now employs tobacco.
Smoking is linked to many conditions, such as cancer.
Specialists say vaping is far less dangerous than tobacco products, and can help you quit smoking. It is not recommended for those who don't smoke.
Electronic cigarettes avoid burning tobacco and avoid generating tar or CO, a couple of the most dangerous elements in tobacco fumes. They have nicotine, which may be dependency-creating.