World Hepatitis Alliance
World Hepatitis Alliance’s Response to the Zero Draft of the Political Declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health
Briefs & Fact Sheets
28 May 2025
Tobacco kills more than 8 million people globally every year. More than 7 million of these deaths are from direct tobacco use and around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Tobacco smoking is a known risk factor for many respiratory infections and increases the severity of respiratory diseases. A review of studies by public health experts convened by WHO on 29 April 2020 found that smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19, compared to non-smokers.
