http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5idTGPNz...fNBLOQD8ULIQ4O1

Tobacco Could Kill 1 Billion by 2100

By EDITH M. LEDERER – 38 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century and could kill one billion people in the 21st unless governments act now to dramatically reduce it, the World Health Organization said in a report Thursday.

Governments around the world collect more than $200 billion in tobacco taxes every year but spend less than one fifth of 1 percent of that revenue on tobacco control, it said.

"We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of one billion men, women and children during this century," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in an introduction to the report.

The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 calls on all countries to dramatically increase efforts to prevent young people from beginning to smoke, help smokers quit, and protect nonsmokers from exposure to second hand smoke.

It urges governments to adopt six "tobacco control policies" — raise taxes and prices of tobacco; ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; protect people from second hand smoke; warn people about the dangers of tobacco; help those who want to quit smoking; and monitor tobacco use to understand and reverse the epidemic.

"The tobacco epidemic already kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses," Chan said. "Unchecked, that number will increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030."

Chan was launching the report with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, helped fund it.

According to the report, nearly two thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries — China, which accounts for nearly 30 percent, India for about 10 percent, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

It forecast that more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

Tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries, the report said, "due to steady population growth coupled with tobacco industry targeting, ensuring that millions of people become fatally addicted each year."

While standard cigarettes are most common, WHO said other types of smoked tobacco are also "lethal," including small hand-rolled cigarettes called bidis which are smoked in India and other Southeast Asian nations, clove and tobacco cigarettes called Kreteks smoked in Indonesia, and tobacco cured with flavorings known as shisha smoked from water pipes.

It warned that "the shift of the tobacco epidemic to the developing world will lead to unprecedented levels of disease and early death in countries where population growth and the potential for increased tobacco use are highest and where health care services are least available."

"In the 20th century, the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide," the report said. "Unless urgent action is taken, more than one billion people could be killed by tobacco during this century."

WHO called the rise in tobacco use by younger women "one of the most ominous potential developments of the epidemic's growth."

Only 86 of 193 countries surveyed have recent data on tobacco use for both adults and youths. Seventy-four countries still allow smoking in health care institutions and about the same number allow smoking in schools. And more than half the countries, with two-thirds of the world's population, allow smoking in government offices and workplaces, the report said.

Only two countries — Uruguay and New Zealand — had both comprehensive smoke-free laws and high enforcement, it said.

For the tobacco industry to survive, and keep existing customers hooked and attract new customers, "it spends tens of billions of dollars a year on advertising, promotion and sponsorship," WHO said.

One of the most effective ways to curb tobacco use is to ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, but it said only 20 of 179 countries that responded have complete bans.

While many tobacco users want to quit, they are unable to because of their addiction to nicotine, and "the vast majority of countries" provide no help, the report said. Only nine countries, accounting for 5 percent of the world's population, offer a full range of treatment and at least partial financial subsidies to help people trying to quit, it said.

"Weak health warnings on tobacco packs — or no warnings at all — continue to be the global norm," the report added, noting that only 15 of 176 countries surveyed required picture warnings which are most effective.

They call this phenomenon "natural selection".

With the run-away population explosion, one billion less people is actually a good thing. If we were talking an epidemic which isn't preventible, then it would be alarming, but since smoking is something people do out of their own volition, getting 1 billion people off the Earth on a voluntary basis is not a bad idea...

I think we should first focus our energy on banning DHMO. It is far more destructive than tobacco.....
http://www.dhmo.org/

what about the second-hand smoke victims?

I just love this total BS statistical voodoo ...
But on the other note, I've quit almost 3 weeks already ...




Chinese smoke like chimneys but it doesn't seem to affect their numbers ...

Well, with the very wide smoking bans that have now been implemented almost everywhere, second-hand smoking is not that much of an issue any more, is it?

With the level of quality control they have in China, I somehow suspect Chinese cigarettes are mostly rejected tea leaves...

Then Chinese tea must be made of cigarette butts collected from urban trash ...

Wow. Show use that bleeding heart!

Anyway, it's not exactly voluntary. Kids often start do to peer pressure or pure stupidity or just to be cool. Then they get addicted.

What bleeding heart?

Stop believing your own right-wing stereotypes...

Making 1 billion people quit smoking and thus live is not going to magically produce food to feed them...  By most scientific estimates, when the human population excedes 7 or 8 billion (the Earth's "carrying capacity") it will become very difficult to grow enough food for them. And that's not taking global warming's effect on arable land worldwide...

Now you see how it feels.



So because a teen caved into peer pressure they deserve the death penalty. Nice.

What about all the teens who die due to reckless driving? I think we should up the driving age to 45...

Equate them with earthquake victims or murder victims, depending on how you see the culpability of smokers.



Do most of these kids die in their teens? Are you suggesting that these people cannot avail themselves of the many options out there to stop smoking? A food addiction can be just as deadly, but you don't see (many) people blaming McDonald's for some guy's triple by-pass. I understand quitting smoking is difficult, but people need to grow up and take responsibility for their own choices. If you care enough, you WILL quit, even if it IS hell.

Good points.
Overeating is bad, but it's certainly a *lot* less harmful than smoking. You shouldn't have drunk the Super-Size Me diet Kool Aid...

You think it is anymore healthy to be 300+ pounds? To suffer from sleep apnea, or be at risk of heart disease and diabetes? Being morbidly obese certainly does kill a lot of people (I'm too lazy to google it and compare it with smoking-related death rates) and a huge chunk of americans are overweight or obese. And it is no less easy to diet and change your lifestyle than it is to quit smoking.

You only proved my point. Most people will not end up being morbidly obese even if they eat at McDonald's 2~3 times a week. That's just a myth made up by that unabashedly biased pseudoscientific documentary. (ie Super Size Me)

And I'm willing to bet that most kids who've tried a cigarette or two didn't end up being lifelong smokers (and I know a lot of kids who quit after the "cool" factor wore off). The point is that people choose to smoke, or choose to overeat, and that neither should be blaming society or Evil Corporations because they didn't say "no" at some point.

The truth is I actually felt more or less the same way Krum felt when I read the article. And I wasn't really disagreeing with that opinion above.

But I am acknowledging that you are simply underestimating the addictive nature of nicotine. We are talking about brain chemistry here. That said I have no sympathy for someone that doesn't try to quit. And I do feel that quiting, because I've seen it done, though extremely difficult is very possible. shaya_getzl, they say the first 72 hours are the most difficult and most give up before going that long. So well done! Wishing you much further success.

(Can anyone find ms's post about what happens to your body after you quit?)