Smoking Could Kill 8 Million People A Year By 2030, WHO Says

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. National Cancer projected that smoking could kill 8 million people a year by 2030. This is based on the study conducted by both organizations.

The study indicates that the number of tobacco-related deaths is projected to increase from about 6 million deaths annually to about 8 million annually by 2030, with over 80 percent of these occurring in LMICs (low-and-middle-income countries). It is also stated that smoking costs the global economy more than $1 trillion a year. This outweighs the global revenues from tobacco taxes, in which the WHO estimated it to be about $269 billion in 2013 to 2014, according to Huffington Post.

The number of smokers globally is rising and alarming. The health experts said that tobacco use is the single biggest preventable cause of death globally.

In a 688-page report of the study, it stated that the economic costs are expected to continue to rise, and although governments have the tools to lessen tobacco use and associated deaths, most have fallen far short of using those tools effectively. "Government fears that tobacco control will have an adverse economic impact are not justified by the evidence. The science is clear; the time for action is now."

To reduce tobacco use, there are some policies such as hiking tobacco taxes and prices and comprehensive smoke-free policies that are implemented. Some also ban tobacco company marketing and disseminate pictorial warning labels. According to the WHO, the governments have spent less than $1 billion on tobacco control in 2013 to 2014.

Centers for Disease and Control Prevention reports that cigarette smoking causes over 480,000 deaths a year in the United States. It also causes about 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths in men and women. In fact, more women die from lung cancer a year than from breast cancer. Cigarette smoking is very harmful to the body as it harms almost all the organs of the body. This triggers many diseases and jeopardizes the health of the smokers. It is advisable to quit smoking that could lower the risk for smoking-related diseases and can add years to life.