A 2025 World Health Organization report finds people across the WHO European Region — which includes Europe, Russia and Central Asia — now represent the largest per-capita share of tobacco users worldwide, and the agency says that is unlikely to change before 2030. The report highlights that use is driven not only by cigarettes and cigars but also by e-cigarettes and smokeless nicotine products such as chewing tobacco and nicotine pouches.
WHO European Region Director Hans Henri Kluge warned the tobacco industry is targeting young people directly with flavored products and sophisticated social media marketing, undermining regulatory efforts and contributing to youth uptake.
Who is using tobacco in the region?
– Among 13–15-year-olds in the WHO European Region, about four million use tobacco products.
– One in seven in that age group use e-cigarettes — the highest rate of any WHO region.
– Girls in the region use tobacco at higher rates than girls in other WHO regions.
The report notes some countries are taking stronger action. Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have moved to regulate novel nicotine products, ban flavors and tighten advertising restrictions, showing that policy changes can reduce youth appeal and access.
Women and uneven progress
Female smokers in the European region have been slower to quit than in other parts of the world: roughly two in five of the world’s female smokers live in this region. Overall progress on tobacco control is uneven, leaving policy gaps that allow tobacco use to persist and spread among young people.
Comparisons with other regions
Until 2025, Southeast Asia had the highest tobacco use among WHO regions. That region achieved reductions by implementing strong measures — health warning labels, smoke-free laws, school education programs and visible public role models. The WHO says Europe’s response has been less consistent.
Regulatory weaknesses identified in the report include:
– Only about one-third of countries in the region have implemented smoke-free public-space laws.
– Only about a quarter offer national quit helplines, free cessation services, or comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising.
– Tobacco prices are lower now than a decade ago in roughly two-thirds of European countries, reducing a key deterrent to use.
Health toll and recommendations
Kluge emphasized the human cost: an estimated 1.1 million people in the European region die each year from tobacco-related diseases. The WHO warns that without stronger, more uniform measures — including flavor bans, tighter advertising and marketing restrictions, higher prices and widely accessible cessation services — youth initiation and continued tobacco use will remain major public health challenges.