Let the public accelerate tobacco and E-cigarette measures
The World Health Organization is calling on countries in South-East Asia Region to intensify efforts to control tobacco and e-cigarette use, as despite steep decline over the years tobacco consumption in the Region continues to be the highest globally, and vaping is on the rise. “The Region still has the highest number of people using tobacco which puts them at risk of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, respiratory and heart disease. Urgent measures are also needed to control e-cigarettes, which have not been proven to be effective for smoking cessation. We must do all we can to control tobacco and e-cigarette use to protect health and save lives,” said Ms Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia. While tobacco use in the WHO South-East Asia Region decreased from 68.9% in 2000 to around 43.7% in 2022, an estimated 411 million people in the Region still consume tobacco, as per the latest trends released this year. Get more about non communicable Diseases The Region