According to a study reproduced in the medical journal Lancet smoking in 2019 cost almost 8 million lives.
In the last 30 years, smoking has claimed over 200 million lives, and tobacco annually inflicts NOK 1,000 billion in health expenses on society. It does not scare more and more people from lighting the cigarette.
The number of smokers has increased by 150 million in the last nine years, and the health authorities in many countries obviously do not reach out with their message about the risks associated with tobacco.
Begins as a young person
According to the study, 89 percent of all people who start smoking become addicted to nicotine before the age of 25. Very few start smoking after that time.
19 YEARS: According to the study, the average age to smoke their first cigarette is 19 years.
Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
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– Young people are particularly prone to becoming addicted, and since there are not many who quit once they have started, the tobacco epidemic will continue in the years to come, says researcher Marissa Reitsma. She is affiliated with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in the United States and has led the work on the study.
Most in China
Two out of three smokers in the world are now in ten countries: China, India, Indonesia, USA, Russia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines.
In China alone, it is estimated that 341 million people smoke, which means a great burden on the health care system in the country.
Studies show that at least half of all smokers will die from causes that can be directly linked to smoking. They also show that smokers on average die ten years earlier than those who do not smoke.
Promotions
Authorities in many countries have been campaigning for years to warn and intimidate people from lighting cigarettes, but without much success.
In about half of the 204 countries participating in the study, an equal proportion in the age group 15 to 24 years who start smoking now, as a few years ago.
According to the study, the average age to take the first cigarette is 19 years.
Monday marks the UN’s International Day Against Tobacco.
(©NTB)
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