Smoking causes 1 in 10 deaths across the world
- More than half of all the tobacco-related deaths happened in just 4 countries
- This makes it the second biggest killer on the planet, according to the findings
- WHO previously said that smoking will kill 1 billion people by end of century
- Death rates could rise further as tobacco companies target developing countries
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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One in ten deaths across the world can be put down to smoking, scientists warn.
Known to cause heart disease and lung cancer, the notoriously bad habit killed 6.4 million people last year, a global study found.
And more than half of the tobacco-related deaths occurred in just four countries – China, India, the US and Russia.
This makes it the second biggest killer on the planet, according to the findings in prestigious medical journal The Lancet.
The World Health Organization has previously estimated that cigarettes will kill one billion people by the turn of the century.
Known to cause heart disease and lung cancer, the notoriously bad habit killed 6.4 million people last year, a global study found
But death rates could rise even further as major tobacco companies target new markets in developing countries, experts from the University of Washington, Seattle, warn.
Study author Dr Emmanuela Gakidou told AFP: ‘Sadly, all those deaths were preventable.
‘The deaths of all the people who will die next year and the year after that, and so on, are also preventable.’
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Professor John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Studies, said the war on tobacco was far from over.
He added: ‘Today, the smoking epidemic is being exported from the rich world to low-income and middle-income countries, slipping under the radar while apparently more immediate priorities occupy and absorb scarce available human and financial resources.
‘The epidemic of tobacco deaths will progress inexorably throughout the world until and unless tobacco control is recognised as an immediate priority for development, investment, and research.’
The World Health Organization has previously estimated that cigarettes will kill one billion people through heart disease and lung cancer by the turn of the century
Matthew Myers, president of the campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: ‘With sustained commitment to implementing proven measures to reduce tobacco use, governments can help curb a global epidemic projected to kill 1 billion people this century.’
COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST DEATH RATES FROM SMOKING
1. China (1.8 million)
2. India (743,000)
3. US (472,000)
4. Russia (283,000)
5. Indonesia (180,000)
6. Japan (166,000)
7. Bangladesh (153,000)
8. Brazil (149,000)
9. Germany (130,000)
10. Pakistan (124,000)
Source: University of Washington, Seattle. Figures from 2015
Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle assessed the prevalence of daily smoking in 195 countries.
Despite one in four men still smoking daily, they found rates had decreased by 28 per cent between 1990 and 2015.
One in 20 women were also guilty of puffing on cigarettes each day, but this was a 34 per cent decrease from when the research began.
While the rate of smoking has fallen, the number of daily smokers continues to rise across the world due to rapid population growth.
More than 930 million people smoked daily in 2015, compared to 870 million in 1990 – a seven per cent jump.
Dr Emmanuela Gakidou added: ‘Robust tobacco control efforts have led to progress in reducing the deadly habit of smoking in much of the world, but much more can be done.
‘Growth in the sheer number of daily smokers still outpaces the global decline in daily smoking rates, indicating the need to prevent more people from starting the tobacco habit and to encourage smokers to quit.’
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