According to a new report, tobacco deaths increased by 3 percent in 2017. This brings the total number of tobacco-related deaths to over 7.1 million each year. The report, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), also found that more than 80 percent of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, and is responsible for the death of one person every six seconds. The report calls for greater efforts to reduce tobacco use, including increased taxation and bans on tobacco advertising and promotion. It also calls for more support for smokers who want to quit.
“Tobacco is a major threat to global health,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It is an enormous burden on the world’s health system, and the number one cause of preventable death.”
Dr. Tedros added that the increase in tobacco deaths is “unacceptable,” and that the WHO is committed to doing everything possible to reduce tobacco use.
In the United States, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death. Every year, tobacco kills more than 480,000 Americans, including more than 41,000 who die from secondhand smoke exposure.
Despite these facts, the tobacco industry continues to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products, making billions of dollars in profits.
Sadly, the toll of tobacco deaths continues to rise. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of tobacco-related deaths increased by 3.1 percent in 2015, reaching 480,722.
This is the first increase in tobacco deaths since 1999, and it is a clear sign that we need to do more to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco.
The CDC report found that the majority of tobacco deaths (357,466) were from smoking-related diseases, such as lung cancer and heart disease. Another 63,656 deaths were from secondhand smoke exposure, and 59,000 were from other causes, such as fires started by cigarettes.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of cancer, and it kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, AIDS, and homicide combined.
It is clear that we need to do more to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco. This includes increasing taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, investing in public health campaigns to educate people about the dangers of tobacco, and expanding access to smoking cessation programs.
We also need to hold the tobacco industry accountable for its marketing practices, which have contributed to the epidemic of tobacco use in the United States.
The time has come to end the toll of tobacco deaths in the United States. We must act now to protect the health of our citizens.
