Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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The major health impacts of smoking were established more than 40 years ago but Governments were slow to respond to the growing health epidemic. Despite laudable tobacco control strategies in many countries, globally deaths from smoking continue to rise and are forecast to reach 10 million a year by the 2030's. There is now general agreement that in order to substantially reduce smoking rates, governments need to adopt a comprehensive approach to tobacco control. ⋯ Given the enormous burden that smoking places on health services, governments in developed nations have generally responded by introducing a range of tobacco control measures. However, the picture is far from uniform and some of the best examples of strong, government-led action have occurred in less developed nations. Governments can learn much from these countries and, by supporting the impending global treaty on tobacco control, can help to reduce the smoking-related diseases and deaths of the future.
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China has the largest production and consumption of tobacco worldwide. It has witnessed a dramatic increase in tobacco consumption over the past two decades, with more than 34.8 million cartons of cigarettes being produced and 34.7 million sold annually. Approximately 67% of males and 4% of females aged over 15 years in China are smokers, and the total of over 320 million Chinese smokers represents about one-third of all smokers worldwide. ⋯ In future, the emphasis of smoking control should be directed at restraining teenagers and adolescents from smoking. Cigarette smoking has already caused significant ill-health to the Chinese population with over 1 million people dying each year of various disorders caused by smoking. However, the peak of smoking-induced diseases is still to come and therefore, it is very important to strengthen anti-smoking measures so as to have a far-reaching effect on the future health of the Chinese population.