Global Prevalence of Tobacco Use

"In 2022, the prevalence of current tobacco use among males aged 15 years and over was 34.4%. Of these, 83% consumed smoked tobacco products (global prevalence of 28.4%); see Fig. 6. These male smokers mostly used cigarettes (90%) with a prevalence level of 25.5%. In the same year, 7.4% of females of the same age were current users of any form of tobacco. Compared with males, a somewhat lower proportion used any smoking tobacco (69% at a prevalence of 5.1%.). However, of those who smoked, 86% smoked cigarettes (prevalence of 4.4%); see Fig. 7.

"In terms of numbers of adult users, in 2022, there were an estimated 1.245 billion current tobacco users in the world, among whom 995 million were current tobacco smokers. Among smokers, around 890 million were currently smoking cigarettes; see Fig. 7. Of the estimated 1.245 billion current tobacco users globally, around 1.022 billion were men and 224 million were women. These numbers do not include adolescents aged under 15.

"In the European Region, 25.3% of all people aged 15 years and over were current users of tobacco; with almost all (98% among males and 99% among females) using a smoking product and again almost all using cigarettes; see Table 7.

"The lowest proportion of smokers among tobacco users is seen in the South-East Asia Region where 26.5% of people were current users of tobacco with less than half of these using a smoked tobacco product. There was a marked difference by sex with 55% of males using a smoked product compared with 14% of female tobacco users who were smokers (see Table 7).

"The largest proportion of smokers among tobacco users is found in the high-income country group, where 22.2% of adults were current tobacco users (27.2% of males and 17.2% of females). Of these, the large majority were current smokers (25.2% of males and 16.5% of females). This translates to 94% of current tobacco users being smokers (93% of male tobacco users and 96% of female tobacco users).

"The smallest proportion of smokers among tobacco users is found in the lower middle-income country group, where on average 22.7% of adults were current tobacco users in 2022, with only 12.9% using a smoked product.

"Among tobacco smokers globally, just under 90% smoked cigarettes. The proportion was highest in the Western Pacific Region, where almost all smokers smoke cigarettes, and lowest in the South-East Asia Region, where almost 80% of smokers used cigarettes."