The World Health Organization (WHO) has decreed that today is World No Tobacco Day
- Tobacco kills up to half of its users.
- Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
- Around 80% of the world’s 1.1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.
Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment
The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
Around 80% of the 1.1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.
Tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of income, raise the cost of healthcare and hinder economic development.
In some countries, children from poor households are frequently employed in tobacco farming to provide family income. These children are especially vulnerable to “green tobacco sickness”, which is caused by the nicotine that is absorbed through the skin from the handling of wet tobacco leaves.
Amazed that anyone who can read will smoke, I am a dedicated anti-smoking person. Check out my Page – How many ways does smoking harm you? for further details.
Tony
every day is no tobacco day for me, except for second hand smoke. thanks to my parents smoking i had asthma as a kid. they eventually quit. luckily for me i never had the temptation. the chemicals help people relax so until there’s something else cheaper and legal, i guess people will keep using it. it’s good of you to remind people how bad it is for you, though, Tony.
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