It is tragic to note that even the most developed countries like the US, the UK, Australia and Canada; smoking has become one of the primary causes of death over the past twenty years. Studies have shown that deaths from smoking related illnesses are slowly surpassing those caused by the AIDS epidemic since the early 90s.
The study also predicts that in the coming two decades over eight million people will be dying because of smoking in developed countries. The statistic for deaths related to smoking is even higher for developing nations.
Currently, there are over a billion people around the world that are chain-smokers, which means that they are susceptible to deaths related to tobacco consumption. Tobacco alone has been reported to kill almost four million people every year.
Tobacco related illnesses are mainly attributed to developed countries, as many labels them as “rich country diseases” but the epidemic is spreading worldwide. The Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, UK predicts that in another decade, three quarters of all the deaths in the world will be related to smoking and the majority of them will be from developing countries. By then the amount of tobacco related deaths would claim over ten million lives every year in developed countries.
The figures are absolute, and for many who are regular smokers, quitting does not seem like a very practical option as addiction to nicotine is an extremely real and difficult disease to overcome. If nicotine cannot be avoided at least the intake of the most harmful ingredients such as tar can be limited.
