The UN agency also disclosed that no fewer than 1.2 million non-smokers die from exposure to tobacco smoke.

This was contained in a message by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti to mark this year’s World No Tobacco Day.

According to Moeti, tobacco is responsible for the death of half of its users as it harms nearly every organ in the human body.

She said: “Tobacco use can lead to lung, mouth, throat, oesophagus, stomach, bowel, and other cancers. It increases the risk of chest and lung infections, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. There is no safe form of tobacco.

Noting that the theme for this year’s was “Commit to quit” as the choice to stop tobacco was in individual’s our hands, she said: “ Millions of people have been motivated to quit tobacco during the COVID-19 pandemic because of evidence showing tobacco smoking impairs lung function, making it harder for the body to fight off coronaviruses and other diseases.

“Of the 1.3 billion tobacco users globally, 60 per cent have expressed the desire to quit but only 30% have access to the tools to do so successfully. Digital solutions can help to fill this gap and so at WHO we have introduced “Florence” a digital health worker who gives brief advice on how to quit and links people with the tools and solutions that can help.

“More than 75 million people in the African Region use some form of tobacco. This burden is likely to increase as consumer purchasing power improves coupled with intensive efforts by the tobacco industry to expand the African market. Public health advocates should therefore actively pursue counter-marketing campaigns that highlight the many risks of tobacco use.”