India, Nepal likely to achieve 30% reduction in tobacco use: WHO

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday said that India and Nepal are among the countries likely to achieve a 30 percent relative reduction in tobacco use to meet the target of the global NCD action plan by 2025. This would be the second-lowest regional average rate after Africa-7.5 percent in 2025

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday said that India and Nepal are among the countries likely to achieve a 30 percent relative reduction in tobacco use to meet the target of the global Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) action plan by 2025.

"If tobacco control efforts continue at the current level, smoking rates in the region can reach as low as 11 per cent in 2025. This would be the second-lowest regional average rate after Africa-7.5 percent in 2025," the WHO said.

As per the WHO global report on trends in the prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2005, WHO Southeast Asia region has achieved the fastest rate of decline in the use of tobacco with the average prevalence of smoking among men declining from 50 percent in 2000 to 25 percent 2020 and tobacco smoking among women declining steeply from 8.9 percent in 2000 to 1.6 present in 2020.

"Sustained political commitment and relentless efforts by counties to strengthen surveillance, expand tobacco control measures including cessation services to help users quit tobacco are some of the key reasons for success," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO Southeast Asia Region. Tobacco use is one of the key risk factors for non-communicable diseases and effective tobacco control is important for the prevention and control of NCDs- a flagship priority of the region since 2014.

"A set of cost-effective measures to address Non-Communicable Disease's, continue to be at the core of the regional response, recognising the need for countries to identify and implement the most effective, feasible, and affordable interventions whatever their resource setting," Dr Singh said and adds that WHO will continue to support member countries towards tackling NCDs and controlling tobacco.

Currently, the region has the highest rates of tobacco use, with around 432 million users, or 29 percent of its population. It is also home to 266 million smokeless tobacco users out of 355 million globally, the WHO stated. "Targeted strategies are needed to address the challenge of smokeless tobacco use, particularly among women. Almost 40 percent of women tobacco users use only smokeless tobacco," the WHO said.