The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that progress in reducing tobacco use is under threat as the tobacco industry adapts and intensifies efforts to interfere with national policies. Releasing the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025report at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin today, WHO called for urgent action to protect hard-won gains and close remaining gaps in global tobacco control.
“Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve—and so must we,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures.”
The new report tracks global progress on the MPOWER measures, six proven interventions to reduce tobacco use: monitoring, protecting from smoke, offering help to quit, warnings, advertising bans, and raising taxes. Since 2007, 155 countries have adopted at least one MPOWER measure at best-practice level, protecting 6.1 billion people today, up from 1 billion in 2007. Four countries—Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye—have fully implemented the entire MPOWER package.
Despite this, WHO warns that major gaps remain. Forty countries still have no best-practice measures in place, while over 30 continue to allow cigarette sales without mandatory health warnings. “Governments must act boldly to close remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the proven tools that save lives,” said Dr. Ruediger Krech, WHO Director of Health Promotion.
The report shows particularly strong progress in the adoption of graphic health warnings. In 2007, only nine countries required them; today, 110 countries do, covering 62% of the world’s population. Yet enforcement is inconsistent, and smokeless tobacco packaging remains poorly regulated.
“Since Bloomberg Philanthropies started supporting global tobacco control efforts in 2007, there has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go,” said Michael Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the report, which was released alongside the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control.
The WHO also sounded alarms on weak taxation policies. Despite being one of the most effective tools to curb tobacco use, 134 countries have failed to make cigarettes less affordable. Since 2022, only three nations have raised taxes to best-practice levels.
The report further notes troubling stagnation in public education campaigns. “Despite their effectiveness, 110 countries haven’t run anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022,” WHO noted, though 36% of the global population now lives in countries running best-practice campaigns—nearly double the rate from 2022.
Meanwhile, access to cessation support remains limited, with only a third of people globally having access to cost-covered quit services. Advertising bans exist in 68 countries, covering just over a quarter of the world’s population.
Second-hand smoke continues to kill 1.3 million people every year. While 79 countries have now implemented comprehensive smoke-free environments, WHO warns that industry resistance remains strong, particularly in hospitality venues.
The growing spread of e-cigarettes, or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), has triggered further debate. The number of countries regulating or banning ENDS has grown from 122 in 2022 to 133 in 2024. But over 60 countries still have no regulations in place.
WHO officials stressed that while many countries have made great strides, tobacco remains a deadly global epidemic claiming more than 7 million lives each year. “Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic,” Dr. Tedros urged.
