According to new research from the Knowledge Action Change Project Global Status of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR), the number of e-cigarette users worldwide will increase by 20% from 2020 to 2021.
The organization estimates that there are currently 82 million e-cigarette users worldwide.
The updated calculations were made possible by releasing a range of new data, including the 2021 Eurobarometer 506 survey, and disclosed in a recent GSTHR briefing. The figures are based on available surveys of vaping prevalence in 49 countries.
To address the issue of missing data, GSTHR used an established method to estimate the number of vapers in countries for which there is currently no information, assuming similarities to countries in the same region and economic situation with data points.
This estimate considers three factors—sales regulatory status, WHO regions, and World Bank income groups—and Euromonitor data on the size of the vaping product market from 2015 to 2021.
Tomasz Jerzynski, the data scientist at GSTHR, said: “In addition to the significant growth in the number of e-cigarette users globally, our research shows that the use of nicotine vaping products is also increasing rapidly in some countries in Europe and the North. This increase is particularly significant because these products have only been on the market for ten years in most markets.
The number of vapers worldwide is increasing despite GSTHR’s database showing that 36 countries, including India, Japan, Egypt, Brazil, and Turkey, have banned nicotine vaping products.
The new data also shows that the United States is the largest e-cigarette market valued at $10.3 billion, followed by Western Europe ($6.6 billion), Asia Pacific ($4.4 billion), and Eastern Europe ($1.6 billion).
The largest market with the fastest growth in North America, mainly the United States, with estimated market size of $10.3 billion in 2021, compared to Canada’s $1.4 billion. Western Europe followed it with $6.6 billion, the Asia Pacific with $4.4 billion, and Eastern Europe with $1.6 billion. Conversely, the smallest markets are the Middle East and Africa at $490 million, Latin America at $122 million, and Oceania at $118 million.
Gerry Stimson, Director of KAC and Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London, said: “As the latest data on the state of global tobacco harm reduction shows, consumers are finding nicotine vaping products attractive and are turning to more and more globally. Use them. While many countries have adopted prohibitive policies, they have taken an anti-scientific stance against tobacco harm reduction because of Michael Bloomberg’s billions of dollars and his passion for the war on nicotine.
What does the rise in global e-cigarette users mean for tobacco and nicotine policy?
As more consumers choose to use nicotine in a less risky way to reduce harm to their health, the rapid replacement of cigarettes with safer alternatives such as e-cigarettes will enhance ambitions for a smoke-free world.
Global e-cigarette users based on new data are estimated at 82 million, a significant but expected increase from previous forecasts, indicating continued global uptake of nicotine vaping products. The growth was primarily driven by the North American and Western European markets.
In high-income countries, the primary debate about nicotine e-cigarettes has focused on the perceived threat of e-cigarette products to young people, ignoring their potential for significant harm reduction for current adult smokers.
But there are still considerable gaps in the data, with only 49 countries having actionable findings.
Global health organizations, vaping product manufacturers, and other SNP producers are also ignoring the potential for safer nicotine products in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which account for 80 percent of the world’s 1.1 billion smokers. With little or no access to smoking cessation support, citizens of low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by smoking-related death and disease, with under-resourced and overstretched health systems unable to diagnose and treat.
Using safer alternatives to reduce tobacco harm provides an unprecedented exit strategy for more than one billion smokers worldwide. For decades, International Tobacco Control and WHO have banned combustible cigarettes and stigmatized smoking and, arguably, smokers. Worryingly, safer nicotine products and e-cigarettes are now on their radar. Ultimately, this policy will be considered counterproductive. These products offer a range of positive incentives for people to quit smoking and add some inhibitory factors for the first time.
Approximately 112 million people globally are already using harm reduction methods, with around 82 million using nicotine vaping devices, 20 million using heated tobacco products, and 10 million using U.S. smoke-free and snus. Harm reduction must be an integral part of the journey to a smoke-free future to accelerate the pace of ending smoking while helping 1.1 billion current smokers wean themselves off combustible tobacco.
Article source: Blue Hole New Consumption
