London (Reuters) – tobacco-related deaths
have almost tripled in the last decade and large
tobacco companies are obstructing public efforts
that millions could be saved, said Wednesday a
report led by the Group World Lung Foundation (WLF).
In the report, which marks the tenth anniversary of its
first tobacco Atlas, the WLF and American Society of the
Cancer said that if current trends continue mil
million people will die this century because of the consumption of
tobacco and exposure to it, or one person every six
seconds.
Tobacco has killed 50 million people in the last
10 years and is responsible for more than 15 per cent of all the
deaths of men and 7 percent of women, found the
report of the new Atlas of tobacco (www.tobaccoatlas.org).
In China, tobacco is the leading cause of death – with
1.2 million deaths per year – and it is hoped that
number rise to 3.5 million a year by 2030, said the
report.
That is part of a broader shift in which lower the
levels of smokers in developed countries, but they grow in
-poor regions, said Michael Eriksen, one of the authors
of the report and director of the Institute of public health of the
State University of Georgia, United States.
“if we do not act, future projections are even
“
worst. “And the number of deaths caused by tobacco is
growing in developing countries particularly
in Asia, Middle East and Africa,” said Eriksen in an
interview.
Almost 80 percent of people who die by
tobacco-related diseases come from countries with
average or low income. In Turkey, 38 percent of the
male deaths due to diseases related with the
tobacco, although smoking also continues to be the main cause of
death among American women.
Accused the Chief Executive of WLF, Peter Baldini, to the
tobacco take advantage of ignorance on the
true effect of tobacco and “disinformation to undermine the
“”
health policies that could save millions of lives”.
The report says that the industry has intensified its fight
against the policies of anti-smoking, launching legal challenges and
trying to delay or stop the introduction of cigarette packets without
ornaments, the prohibition of smoking in public places, the
prohibition of advertising and health warnings in the
packages of tobacco.
The six main tobacco companies in the world had some
benefits of $ 35.100 million (26.500 million of
euros) by 2010, equivalent to the combined income of
Coca-Cola, Microsoft and McDonald ' s, the report said.
Smoking causes cancer of lung, as well as other diseases
lung Chronicles and is a factor important risk in the
heart disease, the leading cause of death in the world.
More than 170 countries have signed a Pact of the Organization
World Health (who) pledging to reduce rates
smoking, limit the exposure of passive smoking and
put a stop to the advertising and promotion of tobacco.
