The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that approximately 1.3 million people die each year from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, stressing the urgent need for stronger global tobacco control measures.
This warning was included in the newly released Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, unveiled at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin.
The report highlights growing industry interference as a major challenge to current tobacco policies and urges governments to step up their efforts.
The report focuses on the six WHO-endorsed MPOWER strategies designed to reduce tobacco use, which kills over seven million people globally every year. These strategies include:
Monitoring tobacco use and prevention efforts
Protecting people from second-hand smoke through smoke-free laws
Offering assistance to quit tobacco
Warning about the dangers of tobacco through labels and media
Enforcing bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship
Raising taxes on tobacco products
According to the report, 79 countries now enforce comprehensive smoke-free laws, covering about one-third of the world’s population.
Since 2022, six more countries—Cook Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Uzbekistan—have adopted such laws, often in the face of resistance from the tobacco industry.
Since the introduction of the MPOWER framework in 2007, 155 countries have implemented at least one of its measures at the best-practice level.
As of 2025, more than 6.1 billion people—roughly 75% of the global population—are protected by at least one MPOWER policy, up from just one billion in 2007.
Four countries—Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye—have fully implemented all six MPOWER strategies. Another seven countries, including Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, and Spain, are just one policy short of full implementation.
Despite these advances, major gaps remain. Forty countries have not implemented any of the MPOWER strategies at best-practice levels, and over 30 countries still permit the sale of cigarettes without health warnings.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus emphasized the need for continued vigilance:
“Twenty years after the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was adopted, we’ve made significant progress, but the tobacco industry is constantly evolving—and so must our strategies.”
The report, developed in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, was released during the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control, which recognized governments and organizations advancing the fight against tobacco use.
Michael Bloomberg, WHO’s Global Ambassador for Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries, noted:
“Since we began supporting global tobacco control in 2007, we’ve seen dramatic progress. But there’s still much more to be done.”
Graphic health warnings have been among the most effective tools in tobacco control, according to the report. However, WHO warned that enforcement of these regulations is inconsistent, and packaging for smokeless tobacco products remains inadequately regulated.
The new report is accompanied by a data portal tracking country-by-country progress from 2007 to 2025.
While 36% of the global population now lives in countries that have run best-practice anti-tobacco campaigns—up from 19% in 2022—110 countries have failed to launch any such campaigns in the past three years.
Over 60 countries still lack tobacco control regulations entirely.
Dr. Ruediger Krech, WHO’s Director of Health Promotion, called on governments to take stronger action:
“Governments must close the remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the tools we know save lives.
No one should be left behind in the fight against tobacco.”