India, Oct. 12 -- The world has fewer tobacco users- the recent World Health Organisation (WHO) trends report on global tobacco prevalence released last week has brought some good news in an otherwise glum news cycle.

The report shows that the number of tobacco users has dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024. Since 2010, the number of people using tobacco has dropped by 120 million - a 27% decline in relative terms.

While there has been a steady decline in tobacco use for both men and women across all age groups during 2000-2024, women have been leading the charge to quit tobacco. They hit the global reduction target for 2025 five years early, reaching the 30% milestone back in 2020. The prevalence of tobacco use amon...