Over eight million people die annually from tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, making the habit a leading cause of preventable diseases, the WHO said in a report calling for greater regulation of smoke-free devices containing nicotine.

Some 16,000 flavours are on the market for e-cigarettes, including bubble gum, vanilla ice cream and chocolate cookies, Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO’s department of health promotion, said, adding e-cigarette users were “at least twice if not three times” more likely to become cigarette smokers. “That calls for exactly the same regulation as cigarettes,” he added.