… Control efforts now protect 6.1 billion people, but urgent gaps remain

Source: Chioma Obinna

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm over increasing interference from the tobacco industry, warning that it is endangering hard-won global progress in tobacco control, even as efforts now protect an estimated 6.1 billion people.

Released at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin, the WHO’s Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report revealed both encouraging gains and troubling setbacks in the global fight against tobacco use, which continues to kill more than 7 million people annually.

MPOWER Success, but Challenges Persist

Since 2007, 155 countries have adopted at least one of the WHO’s six MPOWER strategies at best-practice levels. These measures include:

• Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies
• Protecting people from second-hand smoke
• Offering help to quit tobacco use
• Warning about the dangers of tobacco
• Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship
• Raising taxes on tobacco

This is a dramatic leap from just 1 billion people covered in 2007. Four countries—Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye—have fully implemented all six measures, while Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, and Spain are one measure away.

Yet, despite progress, WHO warns that 110 countries have not run anti-tobacco mass media campaigns since 2022, and 134 have failed to make cigarettes less affordable. Only three countries have raised tobacco taxes to best-practice levels in the last three years.

“Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate—but the tobacco industry continues to evolve, and so must we,” said WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Industry Interference and Weak Enforcement

The report details mounting concerns about tobacco industry lobbying, misinformation, and marketing tactics that aim to weaken or delay regulatory frameworks. Even as 110 countries mandate graphic health warnings, enforcement is inconsistent. Only 25 countries have adopted plain packaging, and smokeless tobacco remains largely unregulated.

“We must unite science, policy, and political will to create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies, or steals futures,” Dr. Tedros added.

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Funding and Data Tools to Accelerate Action

The report, backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, introduces a new interactive data portal to track country-by-country progress from 2007 through 2025.

Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases and Injuries, said:

“There has been a sea change in how countries prevent tobacco use, but the fight is far from over. We remain fully committed to supporting WHO’s efforts to save millions more lives.”

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Urgent Gaps Highlighted

• Only 33% of the world’s population has access to cost-covered quit services.
• 68 countries have adopted best-practice advertising bans, yet these only protect 25% of the global population.
• 40 countries still lack any MPOWER measure at best-practice level.
• Over 30 countries permit the sale of cigarettes without health warnings.

“We have the tools. We know what works. Now, we need bold government action and stronger enforcement,” said Dr. Ruediger Krech, WHO Director of Health Promotion.

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Call to Action

The WHO urged governments to close implementation gaps, resist industry influence, and invest in evidence-based strategies that reduce tobacco use and save lives. The organization emphasized that accelerated global action is vital to prevent future generations from falling prey to the tobacco epidemic.