• Premature death and morbidity due to chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), largely driven by smoking, represent a significant global burden and are a significant global health issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Smoking is a major risk factor for CRDs.

• An integrated strategy for CRD care (prevention and management) and tobacco cessation includes enforcing comprehensive smoke-free environments, improving hospital and community-based services, leveraging digital health innovations and protecting vulnerable populations.

• Integrating tobacco cessation into CRD management can enhance efficiency, prevent duplication of efforts and maximise synergies within healthcare systems, ultimately reducing CRD prevalence and supporting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.

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• There are 1.3 billion tobacco users around the world. Half of them will die from a tobacco-related disease.
• Most of the deaths and disabilities attributable to tobacco are due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases. The main types of NCD are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attack and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
• Tobacco use is one of the major risk factors for NCDs.

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Progress in reducing tobacco use is a key indicator for measuring countries’ efforts to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – target 3.a under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Countries have adopted this indicator to report progress also towards the tobacco reduction target under the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020 and the WHO’s Global Programme of Work triple billions target. This report presents WHO estimates of tobacco use prevalence for 2022, numbers of users, and trends projected to 2030. Estimates are at global, regional and country-level.

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