By Chioma Obinna

With global tobacco control efforts now protecting an estimated 6.1 billion people, the World Health Organisation, WH, in a new report released Monday warned that mounting interference from the tobacco industry is jeopardising further progress.

The WHO’s Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report launched at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin underscored the success of the WHO’s six evidence-based MPOWER measures – encompassing monitoring, protecting, offering cessation help, warning, enforcing bans, and raising taxes in reducing tobacco use, which claims over 7 million lives annually.

Since 2007, an impressive 155 countries have implemented at least one MPOWER measure at a best-practice level, a substantial leap from just 1 billion people covered in 2007.

The report noted that Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Türkiye now boast full MPOWER package implementation, with seven more countries including Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, and Spain just one measure away from achieving the highest level of tobacco control.

However, despite these gains, the report noted that significant vulnerabilities persist.

In the views of the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: ” Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so must we.”

He emphasised: “By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures. Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic.”

The report, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, highlighted graphic health warnings as a standout success, now mandated in 110 countries (up from 9 in 2007), protecting 62 per cent of the global population.

the WHO cautioned that enforcement remains inconsistent, and smokeless tobacco packaging is largely unregulated.   A new data portal accompanies the report, offering country-by-country progress tracking from 2007 to 2025.

The Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Non communicable Diseases and Injuries, Michael R. Bloomberg, acknowledged the progress but stressed the ongoing battle.

 “Since Bloomberg Philanthropies started supporting global tobacco control efforts in 2007, there has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go. “Bloomberg Philanthropies remains fully committed to WHO’s urgent work and to saving millions more lives together.”

The report also pointed out critical areas needing urgent attention stating that 110 countries have not run anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022, despite 36 per cent of the global population now living in countries with best-practice campaigns. 134 countries have failed to make cigarettes less affordable, with only three increasing taxes to best-practice levels since 2022.

“Only 33 per cent of the global population has access to cost-covered quit services. While 68 countries have best-practice advertising bans, these only cover 25 per cent of the global population. Despite 1.3 million deaths annually from second-hand smoke, 40 countries still lack any MPOWER measure at a best-practice level, and over 30 countries permit cigarette sales without mandatory health warnings,” the report noted.

The Director of Health Promotion at WHO, Dr. Ruediger Krech, further called on governments to act boldly to close remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the proven tools that save lives. WHO called on all countries to accelerate progress on MPOWER and ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against tobacco.