Although tobacco deaths rarely makeheadlines, tobacco kills one person everysix seconds.
Tobacco kills a third to half ofall people who use it, on average 15 yearsprematurely. Today, tobacco use causes 1in 10 deaths among peuple worldwide – morethan five million people a year.
By 2030, unlessurgent action is taken, tobacco’s annual deathtoll will rise to more than eight million.If current trends continue unchecked, it isestimated that around 500 million peoplealive today will be killed by tobacco. Duringthis twenty-first century, tobacco could killup to one billion people. Most tobaccousers will want to quit but will be unableto because of their dependence on a highlyaddictive substance.Cigarettes and other smoked tobacco productsrapidly deliver the addictive drug nicotine tothe brain immediately after smokers inhale –about as efficiently as an intravenous injectionwith a syringe. The tobacco industry itself hasreferred to cigarettes as a “nicotine deliverydevice”. But because the effects of smokedtobacco last only a few minutes, smokersexperience withdrawal symptoms unless theycontinue to smoke.Although standard cigarettes are the mostcommonly used type of smoked tobacco, othersmoked tobacco products, such as bidis, kreteksand shisha, are gaining popularity – often inthe mistaken belief that they are less hazardousto health. However, all forms of tobacco arelethal. Smoked tobacco in any form causes upto 90% of all lung cancers and is a significantrisk factor for strokes and fatal heart attacks.
