WHO Report: More Women Are Quitting Tobacco Than Men

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2025 report reveals that women are quitting tobacco at a faster rate than men, marking an important shift in global tobacco control. Between 2000 and 2024, tobacco use has declined steadily across all age groups, but women have taken the lead in quitting. They achieved the WHO global reduction target of a 30% decline in tobacco use five years ahead of schedule, reaching it in 2020 instead of 2025.

The report shows that tobacco use among women fell from 11% in 2010 to 6.6% in 2024, with the number of female users dropping from 277 million to 206 million. This progress reflects the impact of sustained public awareness campaigns, improved access to cessation services, and stronger policy enforcement in many countries. Health education and social advocacy, especially targeting reproductive-age women, have also helped shift perceptions around smoking and its health risks.

By contrast, men continue to lag behind in tobacco cessation, reflecting deep-rooted behavioral, cultural, and policy challenges. While tobacco use among men has fallen from 41.4% in 2010 to 32.5% in 2024, the pace of decline remains too slow. Men still account for more than 80% of the world’s tobacco users—nearly one billion people. Cultural norms, aggressive tobacco marketing, and limited uptake of cessation services contribute to this slower progress. Without targeted interventions, the global target for men may not be met until 2031.

Experts are calling for renewed efforts to curb tobacco use among men through stronger regulation, increased taxation, and better cessation support tailored to men’s health behaviors. Governments are also being urged to counter the persistent influence of the tobacco industry, which continues to target young men in emerging markets.

This trend among women demonstrates that progress is possible when policy, education, and public health action align. The challenge now is ensuring that men are not left behind. A truly tobacco-free future will depend on closing this gender gap, holding the industry accountable, and sustaining the momentum that women have set in motion. Anything less would undermine decades of global health gains and delay the vision of a world free from tobacco-related disease and death.