WHO estimates at least 15m teenagers use e-cigarettes worldwide

At least 15 million people aged 13 to 15 use e-cigarettes globally, with young people on average nine times more likely to vape than adults in countries with data, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

In its first global estimate of e-cigarette use, the WHO said more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping, including at least 86 million adults, mostly in high-income countries.

The figures come as global tobacco use continues to decline, with the number of tobacco users falling to 1.2 billion in 2024 from 1.38 billion in 2000.

As ever-stricter regulations help cut tobacco use, the industry has turned to alternative products such as vapes to help offset sales declines.

Tobacco companies say they target adult smokers, aiming to help them quit and reduce the harm of traditional tobacco.

But e-cigarettes are driving a "new wave of nicotine addiction", said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO department for health determinants, promotion and prevention.

"They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress."

Governments and health authorities are grappling with how to balance the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes, namely uptake by new nicotine users.

On the other hand, some research has found e-cigarettes are effective at helping smokers quit.

A 2024 review of evidence by Cochrane, a non-profit network of health researchers, found that smokers were more likely to succeed in quitting with e-cigarettes than traditional patches or gum.

But it also warned more data was needed and the longer-term health effects remained unclear.

The decline in traditional tobacco use varied sharply by region. Male tobacco prevalence in Southeast Asia nearly halved to 37% in 2024 from 70% in 2000, accounting for more than half the global decline.

Europe now has the highest tobacco prevalence globally at 24.1%, with its women engaging in the world's highest female tobacco use at 17.4%.

The WHO warned that nearly one in five adults worldwide still use tobacco products, and called for stronger enforcement of tobacco control measures and regulation of new nicotine products such as vapes.