Smoking

The causal relationship between cigarette smoking and the reduced health of active, as well [Page 1617]as passive, smokers is well established. Global tobacco use causes nearly five million deaths per year, or one death every 6.5 seconds. Of the 1.5 billion regular smokers alive today, half are expected to die prematurely from tobacco-related disease, and half of them will do so between the ages of 35 and 69 years. Although the toll is somewhat less for nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work, their risk of developing lung cancer or heart disease is approximately 25 percent higher than that experienced by people who are not routinely exposed to secondhand smoke. Tobacco is the only consumer product that causes death to the primary and ...