Global Impact of Smoking: Health, Economy & Prevalence

The effects of cigarette smoking include a shortened life expectancy due to smoking-related illness and economic costs due to lost productivity.

Prevalence

• About 1.1 billion people smoke worldwide. Europe and Central Asia have the highest smoking rates, with approximately 35 percent of the population of those regions being smokers.

Health

• Approximately 5 million deaths annually are attributed to tobacco use worldwide. The most common causes of death attributed to smoking were cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.

Economy

• Annual worldwide tobacco sales total approximately $330 billion. Approximately 47 million people are employed in the tobacco industry worldwide.

Social Costs

• Smoking is associated with a substantial social cost, including lost earnings due to early death and the medical costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. These costs are estimated to be more than $100 billion in the United States alone.

Poverty

• People in less developed, more impoverished countries are less likely to understand the risks associated with cigarette smoking than individuals from developed nations. Rates of smoking-related illness and social costs related to smoking are rising significantly in these countries.