Alarming Number of People Now Use E-Cigarettes, Warns Global Health Organization
More than 100 hundred million users, including at minimum 15 million children, now use e-cigarettes, fueling a fresh wave of nicotine dependency, according to latest worldwide health findings.
Minors are, usually, nine times more prone than mature individuals to use e-cigarettes, per available international figures.
E-cigarettes are driving a "fresh wave" of nicotine habit, commented a prominent health representative. "These devices are promoted as risk reduction but, actually, are ensnaring youth on nicotine earlier and risk compromising years of improvement."
Teens Being 'Focused On'
"Millions of individuals are quitting, or not taking up tobacco usage due to tobacco regulation efforts by nations around the globe," the representative stated.
"As a reaction to this strong progress, the tobacco sector is pushing back with novel nicotine devices, aggressively focusing on youth. Governments must respond faster and more forcefully in enacting established tobacco-control regulations," the representative continued.
The e-cigarette statistics are an approximation since numerous nations - 109 in all, and numerous in Africa and Asian regions - lack information.
According to the analysis, as of recent February this year, at bare minimum 86 million e-cigarette individuals were adults, mainly in high-income states.
And at minimum 15 million adolescents aged 13 and 15 currently vape, according to studies from 123 nations.
While several countries have attempted to introduce e-cigarette rules to address youth vaping in the past few years, by the conclusion of 2024, 62 states even now had no regulation in place, and 74 states had no minimum age at which e-cigarettes are allowed to be purchased, reports the public health authority.
At the same time, tobacco use has been dropping - from an projected 1.38 billion consumers in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024.
Frequency of tobacco use among females dropped the largest - from 11% in 2010 to 6.6% in 2024.
Among males, the decrease was from 41.4% in 2010 to 32.5% in 2024.
But a fifth of mature individuals internationally even now employs tobacco.
Smoking is linked to many diseases, such as cancer.
Experts say vaping is significantly less dangerous than tobacco products, and can assist you stop smoking. It is not recommended for those who don't smoke.
Vaping devices eliminate burning tobacco and do not produce black substance or toxic gas, a pair of the most harmful components in tobacco vapors. They include nicotine, which may be addictive.
