According to World Health Organisations’ statistics, tobacco use is the second leading cause of death globally after hypertension and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults worldwide.
Of over six million deaths caused due to tobacco consumption world over, one million occur in India alone.
According to the latest report of the Indian Council of Medical Research, smoking and chewing tobacco is the cause of 50 percent of all cancer in men and 25 percent in women. Almost 40 percent of tuberculosis deaths in India are caused due to consumption of tobacco.
One in every third adult in the country use some form of tobacco. WHO states that almost 6 lakh people, more than quarter of them children, will lose their lives this year due to exposure to the second hand smoke.
Smokers and other tobacco users therefore not only put their own life at risk but also of those around them. And World No Tobacco Day is the perfect opportunity for them to kick this habit and switch over to a healthy lifestyle.