Smoking could kill 1bn in century, WHO warns

[Greyskye]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2254185,00.html

Tobacco could kill 1 billion people in the 21st century unless governments act now to dramatically reduce smoking, the World Health Organisation said today.

The UN agency said no country in the world was doing all it could to curb tobacco use, which it estimates will kill 500 million people who are alive today.

It called on all nations to adopt a six-pronged strategy to dissuade people - especially women and young people - from smoking and to help them quit.

Article continues
Raising taxes to as high as 75% or more of the pack price would be the single most effective strategy, the WHO said. Higher taxes would also provide funds to counter tobacco industry marketing tactics.

(much more)

[devilgrrl]

1. If everyone quits right now - no one will ever die!

:crazy:

[Warpy]

11. Maybe fewer will die the way my mother did

fighting for every breath she took for 25 years. It was miserable to watch and miserable to endure. It was more of a relief than a shock when she died.

I can't imagine living like that for so long.

[devilgrrl]

12. How about all the non-smokers who get lung cancer?

Do you care about them?

[Warpy]

13. Jebus, where did that attack come from?

[devilgrrl]

14. Sorry, your post struck me as sanctimonious.

and I'm also sick of people ignoring the fact that a disturbing amount of non-smokers/non-exposed to secondhand smoke are getting lung cancer. Kind of scary if you ask me.

[Warpy]

15. It's a very small percentage

which is unfortunate. Most of them will have long term problems like asthma, chronic bronchitis, and the COPD that finally killed my mother.

Coworkers in the hospital who still smoke do it outdoors, even at home. The rest of the population needs to catch a clue.

[devilgrrl]

16. A small percentage - so that makes it okay?

:eyes:

They can make tobacco illegal this moment and lung cancer will still happen. Where will you point your finger then?

A small percentage... :eyes:

[Warpy]

18. You seem determined to set up strawmen

and go on the attack using them.

Bye.

[devilgrrl]

19. And you seem to think that tobacco is the sole source of lung cancer

Nice to know that it's the ONE topic that'll get you to the voting booth.

bye!

[The Straight Story]

20. And if you smoke and die, they will record it as a smoking related death

go figure....

[The Straight Story]

2. So if those 1 billion don't smoke they won't die?

:rofl:

[enlightenment]

3. Why especially women?

I can buy young people, but why "especially" target women?

[Greyskye]

6. According to the linked article:

It termed the rise in smoking among young women one of the most ominous developments.

"Because most women currently do not use tobacco, the tobacco industry aggressively markets to them," it said. "Advertising, sponsorship, including charitable donations to women's causes, weaken cultural opposition to women using tobacco. Product design and marketing, including the use of attractive models in advertising and brands marketed specifically to women, are explicitly crafted to encourage women to smoke."

[enlightenment]

8. Ah - caught out for not reading the whole article. My bad!

Sorry.

[kestrel91316]

4. Given our host of troubles, will that many people even be ALIVE later in

this century to die of smoking?? And will they even have access to tobacco????

[madrchsod]

5. my mother was dieing from second hand smoke

but she got lucky-she had a stroke and died the same day...

[TahitiNut]

7. OMFG!!! The human race faces EXTINCTION?!?! Because of TOBACCO?!?!

The horror! God KNOWS we need MORE human beings crawling all over the face of this blue marble!

:eyes:

[Warpy]

9. China has finally started a small antismoking crusade

but is trying to limit it to highly trained professional people there.

I guess that's progress. They have encouraged smoking for years as a way to limit the elderly population. Now they'll be encouraging it as a way to limit the population of peasants.

I wonder what they think they're going to eat once the peasants are dead.

[malaise]

10. GW Bush is already responsible for the death of over

a million Iraqis. Does WHO have any comments on that?

[trof]

17. Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease. Always.