This content was published on May 27, 2021 – 10:30 PM
London, May 27 (EFE) .- Tobacco caused almost eight million deaths in 2019, when the number of smokers increased to 1.1 billion globally, reveals a study published this Thursday by “The Lancet” and “The Lancet Public Health “.
The researchers, who analyzed 3,625 reports from 204 countries under the auspices of the collaborative program called Global Burden of Disease, found that 90% of new smokers become addicted before the age of 25.
Preventing access to tobacco by young people would be an effective measure to reduce addiction in future generations, say the experts, who recognize that interference from the tobacco sector is one of the main factors preventing ending this health “epidemic”.
According to the study, released on the eve of “No Tobacco Day”, on May 31, one in every five deaths of men is caused by tobacco, which causes cardiovascular, pulmonary and tracheal diseases, among others.
The authors point out that, although the prevalence of smoking has generally decreased since 1990 (by 27.5% for men and 37.7% for women), in about twenty countries vice has increased significantly among men and twelve among women.
In half of the states examined, the decline in prevalence has not kept pace with population growth, resulting in an increase in the absolute number of smokers.
The ten countries with the most tobacco users in 2019, comprising almost two-thirds of the world’s smoking population, are China (with 341 million), India, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The places with the highest consumption per person are located mainly in Europe, points out the report, which adds that, in 2019, some 155 million smokers between 15 and 24 years old were registered in the world, with 19 years being the average age for start smoking regularly.
The study also detects an increase in the number of people who chew tobacco, to about 273 million, especially in Southeast Asia (led by India), where at least 25% of men over 15 years of age consume it.
The authors, who did not analyze the incidence of tobacco substitutes such as electronic cigarettes, call on governments to adopt effective policies to reduce the presence in society of smoking and prevent initiation among young people, including eliminating tobacco products. flavored nicotine.
“The persistently high prevalence of tobacco among young people in many countries, together with the expansion of new tobacco and nicotine products, underscores the need to redouble control,” says one of the researchers, Emmanuela Gakidou, from the Institute for Measurement and Seattle University Health Assessment (USA)
His colleague Marissa Reitsma adds that if young people’s access to tobacco is not reduced annually, which would decrease the number of adult smokers, “the tobacco epidemic will continue for many years.”
The authors regret that, after 182 countries ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control in 2005, in 2018 only 62 had comprehensive anti-smoking programs that included help to quit; health warnings and ad and sponsorship bans, and only 38 had the recommended tax levels.
According to the authors, raising tobacco taxes is an “effective and profitable” measure, especially if the proceeds are invested in tobacco control programs and other health and social support services. EFE
© EFE 2021. The redistribution and redistribution of all or part of the contents of Efe’s services is expressly prohibited, without the prior and express consent of the EFE SA Agency.
–
