The number of men who smoke and use tobacco is on the decline for the first time, marking a significant shift in a global epidemic that has killed tens of millions of people over past decades, according to a newly released World Health Organization (WHO) report. The change in global smoking trends also demonstrates how government-led efforts are working to “save lives, protect health, beat tobacco”, said WHO in the same report.
WHO also said Southeast Asia has the highest rates of tobacco use, but it expects the rates to decline over the next few years.
“I’ve been in here (Singapore) for the last ten years…, and my observation is that in general, smoking is frowned upon and it wasn’t always that way. Anti-smoking efforts have been going on since the 1970s. As tobacco-control measures become stricter and more comprehensive, the general attitude toward smoking also changes as people become more aware that it’s bad for them and start to reject smoking as a social norm,” said Dr Yvette van der Eijk, Senior Research Fellow, as she weighs in on the report along Dr Ruediger Krech, Director, Health Promotion, WHO.
Watch the interview: