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Study Evaluation One in ten deaths caused by smoking worldwide
Smoking is extremely unhealthy and can have life-threatening consequences for human health. Nevertheless, there are still far too many people who consume tobacco daily. Researchers have now found that smoking causes one in every ten deaths worldwide.
An international team of researchers found in the data analysis based on the so-called Global Burden of Diseases report that one in ten deaths worldwide is due to smoking. Half of all reported deaths occurred in only four countries. These included China, India, the USA and Russia. The experts published the results of their study in the medical journal "The Lancet".
Smoking endangers health and leads to many deaths worldwide. Experts are now analyzing tobacco-related deaths. It became clear that one in ten deaths worldwide is related to smoking. (Image: anoushkatoronto / fotolia.com) Tobacco companies are increasingly focusing on new markets
Despite decades of tobacco control policy, population growth has led to an increase in the number of smokers, say the medical profession. Tobacco mortality will continue to increase as tobacco companies are aggressively targeting new markets, especially in developing countries, the researchers warn.
Population growth leads to more smokers
In many countries around the world, the proportion of people who smoke has decreased. This is due to the fact that there is a strong anti-smoking policy in the respective countries. But of course there are also countries in the world that have not registered a decline, say the scientists. Overall, one could assume that there are fewer and fewer smokers in the world. Unfortunately, this assumption is wrong. As the population grows, so does the number of smokers worldwide, even as smokers decline, the authors add.
Every fourth man worldwide is a smoker
After more than half a century of research and clear evidence of the damaging effects of tobacco on health, around one in four men in the world today remains a smoker, explains study author Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou.
Smoking is the second biggest risk factor for premature death
Smoking is still the second biggest risk factor for premature death and disability. In order to reduce the impact, tobacco control must be intensified, according to the scientists. This will reduce smoking prevalence and the associated burden, researchers say.
Researchers are studying smoking habits in 195 countries around the world
The latest Global Burden of Diseases report covered smoking habits in 195 countries and regions between 1990 and 2015. He noted that nearly one billion people smoked daily in 2015, the researchers report. It smoked one of four men and one of twenty women.
Increase in deaths from tobacco consumption over the course of 25 years
In 1990, the value was still in one of three men and one of twelve women. Around 870 million people used cigarettes every day. In comparison, the value in 2015 was 933 million, explain the experts. Population growth leads to an increase in the total number of smokers. Tobacco deaths increased to more than 6.4 million in 2015. This was an increase of 4.7 percent compared to 1990, the scientists explain further.
How do countries manage to reduce the number of smokers??
The study also found that some countries have been successful in their efforts to prevent people from smoking. This was due to a combination of higher taxes, warnings on tobacco and cigarettes and education programs, say the experts. A good example is Brazil. Over the past 25 years, this country has managed to reduce the percentage of male smokers from 29 percent to 12 percent. In the same period, the number of smokers in women fell from 19 percent to eight percent, say the doctors.
Smoking is on the increase in some countries around the world
A counter-example to the successful efforts were countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. In these countries, there were no positive changes between 1990 and 2015, the scientists explain. In Russia, the proportion of smokers in women rose by as much as four percent over the same period. Unfortunately, similar trends have been observed in many parts of Africa, the authors add. In such countries, the tobacco industry is expanding. Reason for it are inter alia the state regulations. These are extremely sketchy to say the least, explain the doctors. In these mostly poor countries, there is often a lack of financial resources to combat the marketing of tobacco. It could be said that smoking shifts from rich countries to low- and middle-income countries, experts say.
Germany is one of the countries with the most smokers
What about the number of smokers in Germany? In Germany about every fourth adult smokes. About 30 percent of men are smokers and about 20 percent of women smoke regularly, say the experts. In the last 25 years, smokers' male incidence has fallen by about 0.9 percent. In contrast, only a decline of 0.3 percent was observed in women. In total there are about 16.3 million smokers in Germany. This places Germany among the ten countries with the most smokers.
What makes it difficult in Germany to reduce smokers?
According to the researchers, unfavorable data on smoking in Germany are relatively easy to explain. Germany does relatively little to prevent the consumption of tobacco. For example, Germany remains the only country in Europe that still allows tobacco advertising. (As)