The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that approximately 1.3 million people die each year due to exposure to secondhand smoke, underscoring the urgent need for stronger global tobacco control measures.
The alarming statistic was highlighted in the WHO’s Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, launched at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin. While progress has been made in tobacco control, the report warns that ongoing interference from the tobacco industry continues to threaten public health policies and enforcement efforts worldwide.
The report focuses on WHO’s six key MPOWER strategies—introduced in 2007—to reduce tobacco use and protect people from tobacco smoke. These measures include monitoring tobacco use, protecting people through legislation, offering cessation support, warning about tobacco dangers, enforcing advertising bans, and raising taxes on tobacco products.
Since the launch of MPOWER, 155 countries have implemented at least one of these measures at the highest recommended level, expanding protection to over 6.1 billion people globally, or about 75% of the world’s population. Notably, Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye have fully implemented all six components, with several other countries close to full adoption.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the evolving challenges posed by the tobacco industry, calling for continued vigilance and global cooperation to eliminate tobacco-related harm.
Michael Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases, reaffirmed his commitment to supporting tobacco control initiatives, noting significant progress but stressing that much work remains to save millions of lives.
The report serves as a stark reminder that secondhand smoke remains a major public health threat, causing serious illnesses and deaths worldwide, and highlights the critical importance of comprehensive tobacco control policies to protect current and future generations.
