Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States today, and a leading cause of deaths world wide. Smoking deaths are expected to continue to rise in the near and distant future. Public and private groups all over the world are working to improve existing programs and implement new ones in an effort to decrease the number of smoking deaths each year.
Annual Deaths Caused by Smoking
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco is the second leading cause of deaths all around the globe. The WHO estimates that 10 percent of all deaths are smoking related, which comes out to about five million people each year. This number is expected to grow to 10 million by 2020. Half of all smokers will die from their tobacco use. That's about 325 million deaths total.
Secondhand Smoking Deaths
Secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke, is a mix of smoke exhaled from smokers and smoke from the burning end of a tobacco product. In effect, even the person who isn't actively smoking is still passively smoking. The dangerous components of second hand smoke linger in the air for hours after the burning tobacco product has been put out. Secondhand smoke causes 50,000 deaths in America each year. Some of those deaths are children who are victims of of sudden infant death syndrome and premature birth complications, among other causes.
Types of Smoking Deaths
Smoking deaths are not only caused by lung cancer. Smoking also causes COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is a progressive disease that can't be cured. It eventually worsens but it never gets better. Smoking is also responsible for causing or exacerbating heart disease and a host of other respiratory infections and diseases.
What's in Tobacco Smoke that Causes Deaths
While the substance in tobacco that causes addiction is nicotine, it is the many other components that cause death and disease. These chemical components are called carcinogens, meaning "cancer-causing." They include formaldehyde, benzene, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic ammonia and vinyl chloride. Many of these chemicals are also found in rodent poisons or used for preserving bodies and body parts.
Prevention/Solution
There are several ways to prevent smoking deaths. Some of these efforts have been in place for decades, while others are relatively new. Smoking prevention and cessation programs are one of the more widely known types. More recently, local government entities are moving towards the banning of smoking in public places. Some of the larger American cities like New York and Columbus, Ohio, have found success with implementing such policies. It will take many years after a city passes such laws to determine how many smoking deaths they are able to prevent.
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