GENEVA: E-cigarettes are fuelling an “alarming” new wave of nicotine habit, with thousands and thousands of youngsters now hooked on vaping, the World Well being Group warned Monday (Oct 6).
In nations which have the information, youngsters are on common 9 instances extra probably than adults to vape, the WHO mentioned.
The UN well being company mentioned the trade was selling vapes as supposedly much less dangerous merchandise than cigarettes – however actually was aggressively focusing on younger individuals and getting youngsters addicted.
Greater than 100 million individuals are vaping, in response to the WHO’s first world estimate of e-cigarette use.
“The numbers are alarming,” the company mentioned.
They embrace no less than 86 million adults, largely in high-income nations, and no less than 15 million youngsters aged 13 to fifteen.
“E-cigarettes are fuelling a brand new wave of nicotine habit,” Etienne Krug, the WHO’s director of well being determinants, promotion and prevention, mentioned in a press release.
“They’re marketed as hurt discount however, in actuality, are hooking youngsters on nicotine earlier and danger undermining a long time of progress.”
Globally, individuals are smoking much less, with the variety of tobacco customers dropping from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, whereas the world’s inhabitants has swelled.
