Eight million deaths a year from smoking

Consequences of tobacco consumption cost the world economy almost a trillion euros a year
Everyone knows that smoking harms their health. How big the dimensions are, but then again and again. According to health experts, the number of people dying each year from the effects of tobacco use will rise to around eight million by 2030. In addition, smokers cost the global economy almost a trillion euros a year.

smoke harms the health
The fact that tobacco consumption harms health is nothing new. Smokers not only get sick and die of lung cancer. The smoke of cigarettes also increases the risk of several other types of cancer and other diseases such as smoker's or smoker's cough, asthma, chronic bronchitis and heart attack and stroke. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people killed by smoking will increase significantly in the next few years.

According to a new study, the number of smoking deaths per year will rise to around eight million by 2030. Tobacco consumption costs the world economy almost a trillion euros a year. (Image: graja / fotolia.com)

Number of tobacco deaths will increase to eight million a year
According to a report by the Reuters news agency, a new study by the WHO and the US National Cancer Institute states: "The number of tobacco deaths is projected to be around 6 million deaths annually by 2030 increase to about 8 million a year ".

The majority of deaths, according to experts, will be in low and middle income countries.

Smokers cause high costs to the world economy
In addition, tobacco growers and smokers cost the world economy about one trillion US dollars (about 950 billion euros) a year. According to the study, this sum is distributed over the treatment of smoking-related illnesses and lost productivity due to lost time.

The fact that the medical expenses for smoking are higher than often assumed has also been reported by German experts in the past.

But in a study on the net cost of smoking in Germany, Professor Berthold Wigger and his colleague Florian Steidl of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) came to the conclusion that smokers relieve the German society.

The main reason they mentioned was the fact that smokers die about five years earlier than non-smokers and accordingly no longer receive pensions and pensions. According to her, this effect is far more financially significant than additional costs due to additional medical treatment or early retirement of smokers from the working life.

No economic losses to fear
According to the authors of the WHO study, smoking cessation programs would be financially worthwhile. Price and tax increases, advertising bans, warnings about the consequences of smoking and weaning offers would be some possible measures.

Even in countries with tobacco industries, no reduction in smoking is expected to lead to economic losses.

"Fears by governments that tobacco control could have a negative economic impact have been refuted by science," say the experts.

In addition, there will be enough time to organize a living for other tobacco growers. "Now is the time to act." (Ad)