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 Organisation said yesterday.
In its first global estimate of e-cigarette use, the WHO said more than 100m people worldwide are now vaping, including at least 86m 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 1.38bn 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.”
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