Key findings

Prevalence of tobacco use



1. Historically, assessing tobacco use has been weakened by the lack of data in most countries. Efforts are on their way.
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2. Differences in tobacco prevalence between countries indicate that different countries are at different stages in the tobacco epidemic.
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3. The differences in smoking rates between boys and girls are not as large as expected.
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4. There are many factors that increase smoking initiation among boys and girls.
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Health effects of regular smoking



5. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemical compounds. Many of these agents are toxic, and more than 50 - including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and tobacco-specific nitrosamines - cause cancer.
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6. Cigarette smoking is a known cause of at least 25 diseases, including cancers, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute respiratory illnesses, and adverse reproductive effects (including sudden infant death syndrome).
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7. Tobacco smoking kills. Worldwide, in 2000, smoking caused 71% of all lung cancer deaths, 11% of all cardiovascular deaths, and 22% of all cancer deaths.
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8. Before the widespread use of cigarettes, lung cancer was a rare disease. In 2000, smoking caused 850,000 lung cancer deaths worldwide (71% of all lung cancer deaths).
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9. Currently, an estimated 4.8 million deaths per year worldwide are attributed to tobacco use (about 12% of all deaths).
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10. Tobacco use is also a major cause of morbidity and disability.
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11. Tobacco use does not cause health problems only for adults, but also in adolescents.
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12. If current smoking patterns continue, it is projected that by 2020 ten million deaths per year will occur because of tobacco use, and that 70% of these deaths will occur in developing countries.
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13. It is also estimated that, if current smoking patterns continue, 250 million children alive in the world today will eventually die from tobacco use.
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Tobacco dependence



14. Many smokers become dependent on nicotine, an addictive drug found in all tobacco products.
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15. Most people who become regular smokers become physically, behaviourally, and psychologically dependent on continued smoking and have difficulty quitting even when seriously motivated to stop.
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16. Most regular smokers are dependent on nicotine, including most adolescent smokers.
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Environmental tobacco smoke



17. When nonsmokers are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (or secondhand smoke), they inhale many of the same cancer-causing chemicals that smokers inhale.
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18. Environmental tobacco smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke.
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19. Exposure of adults to environmental tobacco smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
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20. There is a 20 to 30% increase in the risk of lung cancer from environmental tobacco smoke exposure associated with living with a smoker.
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21. Children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS; crib death or cot death), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
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22. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
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23. Almost half of the world's children are exposed to tobacco smoke, the majority of them in the home. Many millions of adults are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial progress in tobacco control.
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24. Only eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
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Benefits of quitting



25. Quitting smoking has substantial and immediate benefits for smokers of all ages.
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26. Smokers who quit before the age of 50 have half the risk of dying within the next 15 years compared with those who continue to smoke. Former smokers experience better health than continuing smokers.
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