By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, Sept 8, GNA- Nearly three billion people were exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) globally in 2023, a study, published in the September 7 2026 edition of The Lancet Public Health journal has said.
The number included 1.49 billion women and 767 million children under 15.
While global exposure rates have declined since 1990, the number of people exposed has remained largely unchanged, the journal reported.
Its findings demonstrate that SHS accounted for 1.66 million deaths and 44.8 million DALYs worldwide in 2023, continuing to be a major contributor to disability and premature mortality.
It shows that exposure prevalence was 33.9 per cent globally in 2023 and reached a high of 48.4 per cent in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania, with women in some countries exposed at nearly 1.8 times the prevalence of men.
The study shows children accounted for more than 12 per cent of the health burden from SHS, with lower respiratory infections causing the greatest burden among children.
It indicates ischemic heart diseases accounted for 12.0 million DALYs attributable to SHS, making it the leading contributor to SHS-related health loss in 2023.
The number of people exposed has nearly doubled in sub-Saharan Africa since 1990 and increased 72.1 per cent in North Africa and the Middle East, despite declining exposure rates globally.
China, India, and Indonesia accounted for nearly half of the world’s exposed population, with 664 million, 444 million, and 142 million people exposed, respectively, in 2023.
Achieving lasting reductions in the global SHS burden will require wider adoption and sustained enforcement of evidence-based tobacco control measures, alongside voluntary smoking restrictions in homes and private vehicles.
This is the first dedicated GBD study to assess SHS as a global risk factor across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, providing detailed estimates by age, sex, geography, and time.
The study examines nine SHS-linked health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, COPD, lower respiratory infections, type 2 diabetes, otitis media, and asthma.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Maxwell Awumah
Email address: [email protected]