'Tobacco Epidemic' Could Kill 1 Billion in 21st Century

Feb. 7, 2008— -- NEW YORK (AP) - Tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwidein the 20th century and could kill one billion people in the 21stunless governments act now to dramatically reduce it, the WorldHealth Organization said in a report Thursday.

Governments around the world collect more than $200 billion intobacco taxes every year but spend less than one fifth of 1 percentof that revenue on tobacco control, it said.

"We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobaccoepidemic that threatens the lives of one billion men, women andchildren during this century," WHO Director-General Dr. MargaretChan said in an introduction to the report.

The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 calls on allcountries to dramatically increase efforts to prevent young peoplefrom beginning to smoke, help smokers quit, and protect nonsmokersfrom exposure to second hand smoke.

It urges governments to adopt six "tobacco control policies" -raise taxes and prices of tobacco; ban tobacco advertising,promotion and sponsorship; protect people from second hand smoke;warn people about the dangers of tobacco; help those who want toquit smoking; and monitor tobacco use to understand and reverse theepidemic.

"The tobacco epidemic already kills 5.4 million people a yearfrom lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses," Chan said."Unchecked, that number will increase to more than 8 million ayear by 2030."

Chan was launching the report with New York Mayor MichaelBloomberg, whose foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, helped fundit.

According to the report, nearly two thirds of the world'ssmokers live in 10 countries - China, which accounts for nearly 30percent, India for about 10 percent, Indonesia, Russia, the UnitedStates, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

It forecast that more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deathswill be in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

Tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries, thereport said, "due to steady population growth coupled with tobaccoindustry targeting, ensuring that millions of people become fatallyaddicted each year."