Tobacco Killed Over 7 Million People in 2023 as Global Deaths Continue to Rise

Tobacco exposure killed more than 7 million people globally in 2023, according to estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

The analysis, drawn from the Global Burden of Disease study and presented at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin, paints a stark picture of rising tobacco-related deaths, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Tobacco was the leading risk factor for death among men, responsible for 5.59 million male deaths, while among women, it ranked seventh, with 1.77 million deaths.

Though countries like the UK have registered a 45 percent drop in tobacco-related deaths since 1990, the global picture shows a 24.4 percent increase over the same period with some nations witnessing dramatic spikes.

In Africa, Egypt recorded the steepest rise, with tobacco-related deaths soaring by 124.3 percent since 1990.

According to a statement from Brooks Morgan, a researcher at IHME, tobacco exposure is now responsible for approximately one in every eight deaths worldwide.

Brooks notes that whilst progress is being made in some areas, others are heading in the opposite direction, something he says, demands urgent policy action and tougher enforcement.

Separate findings from the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS) in Argentina showed the scale of the crisis in five low- and middle-income countries—Bolivia, Honduras, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Uruguay—where tobacco caused over 41,000 deaths in 2023 alone.

The economic toll in these countries reached nearly $4.3 billion in healthcare costs, lost productivity, and informal caregiving.

According to IECS, this figure represents about 1 percent of their combined GDP.

Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call.

“There is no such thing as a healthy tobacco product, and what the industry calls ‘reduced risk’ is often just a strategy to increase profit. We must adopt a zero-tolerance approach.” Said Cassandra

The World Health Organization, in a report also released at the conference, urged countries to take bolder steps by increasing taxes on tobacco products, enforcing clear packaging warnings, and clamping down on misleading advertising.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the industry is constantly evolving, targeting young people with newer nicotine products like vapes. He said higher tobacco taxes could help fill critical health funding gaps caused by declining international aid.

In the wake of these alarming trends, researchers from Fudan University in China presented an AI-powered mobile tool designed to help smokers quit. The tool, which uses personalised messages and interactive games, doubled quit rates in a trial involving 272 smokers—17.6 percent of participants using the tool successfully quit, compared to just 7.4 percent in the control group.

At Africa Feature Network, we view the tobacco crisis as a matter of health justice, policy accountability, and socio-economic urgency. Beyond the grim numbers lies a story of exploitation—of vulnerable populations, especially in underserved African communities, where the tobacco industry continues to thrive on weak laws and poor enforcement. It is time for bolder policies, community-driven awareness, and investment in innovative cessation solutions that put people—not profits—at the centre.

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