Chewing Tobacco Killed 251 Thousand People in 2023: 84% of Deaths Occurred in South Asia

Chewing tobacco caused approximately 251 thousand deaths worldwide in 2023, with about 84% of them occurring in South Asia. These findings were obtained by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) after analyzing the situation in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023. The results were published in The Lancet Global Health.

According to researchers' estimates, about 241 million people over the age of 15 used chewing tobacco in 2023 — accounting for 3.9% of the population in this age group. Prevalence among men was more than twice as high as among women. At the same time, not a single country experienced a significant reduction in the number of users between 1990 and 2023, and in 24 countries, their number grew.

South Asia remains the main center of chewing tobacco use: it was consumed by 14.6% of the region's residents over the age of 15. The region accounted for approximately 210 thousand related deaths.

Researchers associate chewing tobacco use primarily with strokes and several types of cancer. Stroke accounted for the largest share of the overall health burden, while lip and oral cavity cancer proved particularly significant among oncological diseases.

The total volume of lost years of healthy life due to chewing tobacco in 2023 amounted to 6.48 million years — 116% more than in 1990. Most of this figure is linked to premature death.

The study's authors note that chewing tobacco often receives less attention than smoking. In their view, effective efforts to combat its use must take into account differences between countries, age groups, and sexes, as well as cultural and social characteristics.