International
Number of smokers worldwide shrinking: WHO
AFP
The number of smokers worldwide has dropped steadily in recent years, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, urging countries to step up control measures further to kick deadly tobacco addiction.
In 2020, some 1.30 billion people were using tobacco globally, down from 1.32 billion two years earlier, the WHO said in a fresh report.
And that number, it said, is expected to dwindle to 1.27 billion by 2025, indicating a decrease of some 50 million tobacco users over a seven-year-period, even as the global population has swelled.
The report showed that while nearly a third of the global population over the age of 15 used tobacco products back in 2000, only around a fifth is expected to be doing so by 2025.
“It is very encouraging to see fewer people using tobacco each year,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
But “we still have a long way to go, and tobacco companies will continue to use every trick in the book to defend the gigantic profits they make from peddling their deadly wares.”
– Over 8 million deaths —
Tobacco use is estimated to kill more than eight million people each year, most of them directly due to their own tobacco use, while 1.2 million of them are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke, according to WHO numbers.
Tuesday’s report cautioned that the annual numbers of deaths would continue climbing for some time even as tobacco use declines “because tobacco kills its users and people exposed to its emissions slowly.”
The report hailed that 60 countries were now on track to reduce tobacco use by 30 percent between 2010 and 2025.
When WHO published its last report on global tobacco trends two years ago, only 32 countries were on track to do so.
“We are seeing great progress in many countries” but “this success is fragile,” said Ruediger Krech, head of the WHO’s health promotion department.
The report called on countries to scale up their use of recognised measures to reduce tobacco use, including enforcing advertising bans, plastering health warnings on cigarette packages, raising tobacco taxes and providing assistance to those who want to quit.
The WHO calculated that investing just $1.68 per capita each year in cessation interventions like providing advice via text message could help 152 million tobacco users successfully quit by 2030.
While the numbers are coming down, the report, which did not include electronic cigarette use, highlighted that 36.7 percent of all men and 7.8 percent of the world’s women were still using tobacco products last year.
Even more concerning, it said that 38 million teens between the ages of 13 and 15 were also doing so.
That accounts for 10 percent of all adolescents in that age group, with boys far more likely to smoke than girls.
Europe is the region of the world where most women use tobacco products — a full 18 percent, the report showed.
The Western Pacific region is where most men smoke, with over 45 percent of men expected to still be using tobacco there by 2025.
International
Mexican TikTok Influencer Shot Dead While Livestreaming in Sinaloa
A Mexican influencer was shot dead Tuesday night while livestreaming on social media outside a restaurant in the violence-plagued state of Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico.
César Gastelum, who had more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, was broadcasting live with two friends while taking part in a challenge in which they dressed as food delivery workers. During the livestream, a motorcycle carrying two individuals stopped beside them, and the driver shot Gastelum in the head.
The broadcast was interrupted immediately after the attack and was later removed by the platform. However, several news outlets preserved parts of the footage and shared images of the incident.
Initial reports from local police indicated that a delivery worker had been killed. However, after reviewing the recording and gathering witness statements, authorities identified the victim as Gastelum, who was approximately 25 years old, according to local media reports. The influencer was known for sharing lifestyle-related content.
The attack took place in a busy shopping area near the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office in Culiacán, the state capital. Military and police forces were deployed to the scene, while forensic experts collected evidence and removed the victim’s body, according to local television reports.
Sinaloa has been experiencing a wave of violence for the past two years due to internal disputes within the powerful local drug cartel.
Local media have reported that around a dozen influencers, some allegedly linked to criminal groups, have been killed in recent years in the state.
International
Iran Rejects Negotiations With U.S. as Strait of Hormuz Remains Blocked Amid New Attack
Tensions remained high in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after a vessel was hit by a projectile, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that negotiations with Iran were moving forward and that the strategic maritime route could reopen as early as Tuesday.
Tehran denied that direct talks were taking place, but Trump insisted that discussions were underway and described the situation as a final opportunity for Iran to reach an agreement.
“This is the last chance they have to sign a good document,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz could happen “literally tomorrow” Tuesday.
The comments came after another escalation in rhetoric from Washington. Last week, Trump threatened Iran with military strikes before unexpectedly changing course on Sunday and announcing that negotiations with Tehran would resume.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai rejected the U.S. president’s version of events, stating that Tehran was not holding negotiations with Washington.
“At this moment, we are not negotiating with the United States. We are negotiating with Oman to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Baqai said.
Earlier, the Iranian official said that Tehran was close to reaching an agreement with Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz, to reopen the crucial waterway that plays a key role in global energy trade.
The maritime route has remained blocked by Iran since the outbreak of hostilities following U.S. and Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced Tuesday that they had launched an attack against an airport in Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed group had previously disrupted the passage of Saudi vessels through the Red Sea, an alternative route used for crude exports by the world’s largest oil producer.
The continued instability in the region has raised concerns over global energy supplies, as the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most important chokepoints for international oil shipments.
International
Lula Launches Re-Election Campaign Amid Rising Tensions With Trump
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to be officially nominated for re-election by his Workers’ Party (PT), marking the start of his campaign for a fourth presidential term.
The nomination takes place during the party’s national convention in São Paulo, Brazil’s economic hub, where around 3,000 supporters gathered to back the veteran leftist leader.
“Today I’m here because Lula’s policies changed my life and my family’s. Thanks to him, we finally own a home after eight generations without one,” said Cristiane Rosa Julho, a 51-year-old social worker attending the event dressed in the PT’s signature red.
Seeking the presidency for the seventh time in his political career, Lula is expected to face Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in next year’s election.
The 45-year-old senator is the son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been jailed over his alleged role in an attempted coup following his defeat to Lula in the 2022 election.
The party convention opened with videos highlighting Lula’s social initiatives and speeches by four women praising his leadership, while supporters waved PT flags and held signs reading “We Want Lula as President” and “Brazil Is Not for Sale.”
The campaign begins amid growing tensions with the United States and President Donald Trump, a close ally of the Bolsonaro family who has openly backed several conservative candidates across Latin America.
Last week, Lula warned against foreign interference, declaring, “In Brazil, we do not accept anyone sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
In July, the United States imposed two rounds of tariffs on Brazilian products, accusing the country of unfair trade practices. The measures followed earlier restrictions introduced in 2025, encouraged by Jair Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo Bolsonaro, in response to legal proceedings against the former president.
Lula has vowed to wage what he called a “war of truth against lies” in response to Washington’s pressure and accused Flávio Bolsonaro of undermining Brazil’s interests by allegedly helping the United States damage the country’s economy. The senator has denied the accusations.
The Brazilian president also claims Washington is attempting to influence the country’s political landscape in an effort to prevent his re-election.
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