Tobacco Killed 7.7 Million People in 2019 – A year In Which The Number of Smokers Increased

10 countries with the most smokers in 2019 account for almost two-thirds of the world’s smoking population. (Photo: Ryutaro Tsukata / Pexels)

In three studies published by the medical journal The Lancet, researches found that globally in 2019, smoking tobacco use accounted for 7·69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years and the leading risk factor for death among males.  The studies, summarized in a press release, are announced on the eve of World No Tobacco Day, which occurs on Monday.

The Results

Although the prevalence of smoking had decreased significantly since 1990 among males and females aged 15 years and older, population growth has led to a significant increase in the total number of smokers in 1990.

Globally 1·14 billion individuals were current smokers, who consumed 7:41 trillion cigarette-equivalents of tobacco with over 86% of the 7·69 million deaths attributable to smoking tobacco use were among current smokers.

China leads the 10 countries with the most smokers in 2019, followed by India, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries account for almost two-thirds of the world’s smoking population, totalling 341 million tobacco users.

  • One in three smokers in the world lived in China two years ago.
  • Approximately 87% of the world’s tobacco smoke-related deaths occurred among active smokers. 
  • Six percent of deaths involved people who had quit smoking at least 15 years ago.

The Data

The study, according to medical journal, modelled multiple smoking-related indicators from 3625 nationally representative surveys.

Based on the data, researches estimated the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden for 204 countries and territories, by age and sex, from 1990 to 2019 as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study.

Conclusion

The study concluded the annual toll of deaths disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking would increase over the coming decades without intervention. 

“Substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of smoking tobacco use has been observed in countries from all regions and at all stages of development, but a large implementation gap remains for tobacco control,” The Lancet.