One billion people in the world smoke tobacco while 240 million have an alcohol use disorder, according to a new study that compiled the most up-to-date evidence on addictive disorders globally.


The study shows that almost 5 per cent of the world's adult population (240 million people) have an alcohol use disorder and more than 20 per cent (1 billion people) smoke tobacco.


Getting good data on other drugs such as heroin and cannabis is much more difficult but for comparison the number of people injecting drugs is estimated at around 15 million worldwide, researchers said.


The "Global Statistics on Addictive Behaviours: 2014 Status Report" shows that the harm to society from legal drugs is many times the harm from illicit drugs.