New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Since 2010, the number of tobacco users has dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, a relative decline of 27%, however, the growing popularity of e-cigarettes threatens to undo these gains, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in its latest report.
"Over 100 million people worldwide are now using e-cigarettes, with at least 86 million users - predominantly adults in high-income countries," the WHO sounded alarm in its first-of-its-kind report on e-cigarettes prevalence in the society.
Most concerning is the estimated 15 million children aged 13 to 15 who are already vaping. In countries where data is available, children are on average nine times more likely to vape than adults, it said.
"This ...