There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that smoking kills people. That information has been known for many years. It can kill from a selection of diseases that all lead to a miserable end for the victim. There is also no doubt that the tobacco industry is more powerful than the government in some countries. This too has been proven a time or two. There are other things that the use of tobacco affects that need to be addressed.

Facts about How Smoking Kills

It is a fact that worldwide, tobacco is the second most frequent cause of death.

1. Tobacco is responsible for one in ten deaths in adults

2. It is believed that it kills almost half of all those who chew or smoke tobacco

3. It is a preventable cause of death and is the most preventable.

4. Tobacco was responsible for one death every five seconds in 2005

5. By the year 2030 it is believed that tobacco will cause 8 million deaths every year

6. During the 20th century, there were 100 million deaths accountable to tobacco use

7. If the trend continues at this rate, there will be as many as 1 billion deaths in the 21st century.

It is estimated that over 1 billion people smoke. Of these people, 84% live in transitional economy or developing countries. Most of these people begin smoking under the age of 18 with about ¼ of these people starting by the age of 10. More men than women smoke by about 37%.

- Tobacco is the 4th most common disease risk factor worldwide.

- Tobacco is not safe in any form, whether pipes, cigars, cigarettes, smoke or smokeless tobacco. This includes varying advertised strengths and flavors of the product. It also includes all of the newer flavored tobaccos as well as so called “additive free”, organic and natural cigarettes.

- According to the US EPA, second-hand smoke causes 3000 lung cancer deaths each year among those who do not smoke. It is also estimated that 200,000 workers die each year because of work place exposure.

- The number of deaths caused by fires initiated by tobacco smoking cause 10% of all fire deaths in 2000. That is 300,000 deaths. The cost of these fires was $27 billion.

According to the World Health Organization, the only way to protect the people from the effects of second-hand smoke is to create smoke-free environments worldwide. Many communities have already imposed legislation that prohibits smoking in public places, restaurants, municipal buildings and in some municipalities, no smoking on the streets as well.

In the United States, smoking was responsible for 6% of all health care costs. Workplace costs in the US reach $47billion each and every year. Children using cigarette lighters start 1million fires annually in the US.

In Australia the cost of tobacco initiated fires is $6billion annually. New Zealand shows a cost of $84million and $3.5billion in China.

If these facts are not enough to ban the use of tobacco in the world, we will continue to address other areas of concern.