WHO foresees 1 billion smoking deaths
BANGKOK, July 3 World health experts predicted in Thailand Monday 1 billion people will die of tobacco-related illnesses this century unless governments act to curb smoking.
“Tobacco is a defective product. It kills half of its customers,” said Douglas Bettcher, head of the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative. “It kills 5.4 million people per year and half of those deaths are in developing countries. That’s like one jumbo jet going down every hour.”
With smoking rates increasing in many developing countries, the annual death toll would rise to 8.3 million within the next 20 years, Bettcher said at the start of an international conference in Bangkok.
However, he said if governments raise taxes, ban advertising and made more public areas tobacco-free, smoking rates could be cut in half by 2050, the Pakistan Daily Times reported.
“It’s a completely preventable epidemic,” Bettcher said. “If we do that, by 2050 we can save 200 million lives.”
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This is really something very serious. People are forsaking their lives for the sake of a little enjoyment.
Smoking is killing every single victim under it. Its really strange how can any one be so foolish to smoke even after reading the caution message right on the cigarette pack.
Such people are really illiterates, who even deny the facts they see with their own eyes. But the government must take some serious measures to stop this.
5.4 million people per year its very shocking, its too drastic situation. It should be as soon as possible will be cured other wise their is death senerio every where.
due to lack of knowledge that Tobacco is a defective product and should not be taken in any form.
As the report says that the annual death toll would rise to 8.3 million within the next 20 years, the basic reason for it is illiteracy.
Remove illiteracy remove death toll.