Despite decades of progress, globally about 20% of the world’s adult population continues to smoke. Within that figure, about 80% of the world’s tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.

In wealthier countries, smoking rates are often lower than the global average, but smoking has become more concentrated among certain populations. For example, military veterans, people with substance use disorders or serious mental health conditions, people in rural areas, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and racial or ethnic minorities all face higher smoking rates.

Why is smoking so dangerous?

Smoking exposes the body—particularly the lungs and cardiovascular system—to thousands of chemicals, many of which are harmful to human health. About 70 of these compounds are known to cause cancer. These chemicals come from burning tobacco, which is the main component of cigarettes.

Tobacco also contains nicotine, which is an addictive stimulant. Nicotine isn’t safe either: It raises the heart rate and creates a dependency that can be challenging to quit. However, nicotine is not the part of smoking combustible cigarettes that cause disease and death.

Nicotine in tobacco is what causes smoking to be addictive, but the vast majority of health complications related to smoking come from the thousands of other compounds in combustible cigarettes. In other words, nicotine addiction is what keeps people smoking, and it is the repeated exposure to harmful compounds that result from combustion that leads to disease and early death.

I’ve been smoking for years and I haven’t been able to quit. Is there anything I can do?

First of all, remember that you are not alone. It takes many people several quit attempts before they are able to successfully kick the habit. Recognize that if you quit and return to cigarettes, it’s not a failure—it’s a useful lesson in what doesn’t work for you.

Second, remember that it’s never too late to quit smoking! No matter how long you’ve been smoking, quitting can help you reduce your long-term risks over time for conditions including heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many types of cancer.

If you haven’t been able to quit entirely using traditional smoking cessation methods, tobacco harm reduction may be able to help.

Tobacco harm reduction is the practice of using products that pose less of a health risk than combustible cigarettes. Non-combustible products such as snus, nicotine pouches, and e-cigarettes carry substantially lower health risks than smoking, though they are not risk-free. Major health authorities agree that for adults who smoke and have not been able to quit, switching to these reduced-risk products entirely can lower long-term health risks.

That said, because nicotine is addictive and not risk-free, youth must be protected from nicotine addiction and must not be able to access these products.