Number of smokers soars to 1.1B worldwide, study says

A new study suggests there were a record 1.1 billion smokers worldwide in 2019, and nearly 8 million related deaths.

Findings published in The Lancet stem from data on 204 countries and territories as part of the Global Burden of Diseases 2019 study. While the World Health Organization ignited positive change in the decade following 2005 through its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – recommending tools like dropping affordability through taxation and greenlighting smoke-free laws -- study authors say, 15 years later, "a large implementation gap remains." Authors highlighted three notable patterns of concern, including little progress won in countries like China and Indonesia with large populations and a heavy smoking prevalence, an uptick in smokers over time due to population growth, and slowing progress.