Smoking is fast becoming a bad habit to have in western society. In other parts of the world there seems to be a different trend. We know, however, the dangers and health problems caused by smoking. Recent statistics show (source: American Cancer Society) the 6 largest tobacco companies, in 2010, made some $35.1 Billion in profits. That equated, in that year, to $6,000 profit for every person that died from smoking or related diseases. Makes you think, doesn't it! Actually, the combined revenue from all the tobacco industry world wide is estimated to be some 1/2 a trillion Dollars (US) per year.
nearly 80% of the deaths caused by smoking occur in low to middle income countries around the world, in China alone, nearly 1.2 million deaths per year are caused by smoking.
It is also estimated that, if trends continue, one billion people will die from tobacco use or exposure in the 21st Century, which equates to 1 person every 6 seconds!
Did you know smoking causes 86% of deaths from lung cancer,80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema and 17% of deaths from heart disease world- wide? makes you think doesn't it?
Smoking, was seen in the past as a great social event, you could not watch an old film without seeing people smoking around tables, in cars and on the street. These days you would be wise not to smoke in many places as it has been banned in cities outdoors, you have to smoke in designated places at a lot of places of work and public transport is a no-no to smokers in many places.
Some real statistics attributed to smoking are;
Smokers under 40 years of age are 5 times more likely to have a heart attack than non smokers of the same age.
People who smoke 1-14 cigarettes a day have 8 times more risk of dying from cancer than non smokers
it is estimated that 200,000 young people in the UK start smoking every year. Also young people who smoke are more likely to get involved in other substance abuse such as alcohol and drugs of some sort or another.
The younger the person is when he or she starts smoking and the longer they persist in the habit the greater the risk of developing cancer.
Smokers quickly become addicted to the nicotine in cigarette smoke. it has been found that after just 4 weeks of having as little as 1 cigarette a day the person is addicted.
According the Tobacco Atlas, published by the American Cancer Society, countries do not gain economically from tobacco. The combined costs of treating smoking related illness, loss of productivity due to people being unable to work through ill health and the cost of premature death can cripple economies.
The damage cause by just 1 pack of cigarettes costs the average American smoker $35. In Egypt, tobacco related health care drained 11% of total health care costs in 2010
During 2000-2004, the value of cigarettes sold in the United States averaged $71 billion per year, while cigarette smoking was responsible for an estimated $193 billion in annual health-related economic losses (source, American Cancer Society)
Lastly, it is estimated that 43 trillion cigarettes have been smoked in the last 10 years. No matter how you look at it this is a huge problem to public health.
So, to get people to stop smoking is a real headache for health care professionals and one, which I believe, will take many decades to win, if we ever do.
If you are worried about smoking in your family and need help in stopping or helping a relative to stop visit http://www.howdo-i-quitsmoking.com or http://www.quit-the-smoke.com and you may find some help there.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_R_Morris
