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 Last year, more than 5.8 trillion cigarettes were smoked, similar to
2013, as rising tobacco use in China counters declines in other
countries, according to a report on Thursday led by WLF.
In their global Tobacco Atlas, the WLF and the American Cancer
Society said that in 2013, the last year for which detailed figures
were available, tobacco industry profits were more than $44 billion.
Meanwhile, 6.3 million people died from smoking-related illness,
equivalent to a profit of $7,000 for each death caused by tobacco.
The report said that, if current trends continue, a billion people
will die from smoking and exposure to tobacco this century.
Besides causing lung cancer, which is often fatal, tobacco use is
also a major risk factor for a range of other illnesses. It is the
world's leading preventable cause of premature death from chronic
conditions such as heart disease, strokes and high blood pressure.
In China, the world's most populous country, almost 2,250 cigarettes
were smoked per person over age 15 last year, making it one of only
around a dozen countries topping 2,000.
The average Chinese smoker consumes 50 percent more than in 1980, a
symptom of a broader phenomenon, as tobacco use declines or is
stable in many wealthy, developed nations but growing in poorer
regions such as Africa and parts of Asia.
"The significant reductions in smoking rates in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Brazil, and other countries that implement increasingly
tight tobacco control laws have been offset by the growing
consumption in a single nation: China," the report said.
Many countries around the world have introduced some anti-tobacco
laws, including curbing advertising and banning smoking in enclosed
spaces such as bars, restaurants and offices.
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But the Tobacco Atlas found that only 10 percent of the world's
population are covered by comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising,
promotion and sponsorship, and only 16 percent by comprehensive
smoke-free legislation.
Low- and middle-income countries now account for more than 80
percent of tobacco users and tobacco-related deaths.
The Tobacco Atlas also found that smoking among women is also on the
rise, driving up rates of female lung cancer.
In an indication of future trends, there are 24 countries where
girls smoke more than boys, compared to just two countries where
more women smoke than men, it said.
"Whether it's the link between tobacco and increasing rates of lung
cancer among women or the ever-increasing number of health
conditions and deaths related to tobacco use, the health and
economic case for reducing tobacco use has never been clearer," said
John Seffrin, chief executive of the ACS.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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