According to latest estimates in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, more than one in 10 deaths globally was caused due to smoking in 2015 and over 50 per cent of them took place in just four countries.
Over 11 per cent of 6.4 million deaths worldwide was caused by smoking in 2015 and 52.2 per cent of them took place in China, India, USA, and Russia.
China, India, and Indonesia, the three leading countries with male smokers, accounted for 51·4 per cent of the world’s male smokers in 2015.
India has 11·2 per cent of the world’s total smokers.
Deaths attributable to smoking increased by 4.7 per cent in 2015 compared with 2005 and smoking was rated as a bigger burden on health — moving from third to second highest cause of disability.
The estimates are based on smoking habits in 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2015, and illustrate that smoking remains a leading risk factor for death and disability.
While Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines did not have significant reductions in male prevalence of daily smoking since 1990, the Philippines, Germany, and India had no significant decreases in smoking among women.
Worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, smoking prevalence decreased by almost a third—from 29.4 per cent to 15.3 per cent—and currently one in four men (25 per cent) worldwide smoke, as do one in nearly 20 women (5.4 per cent).
Pakistan, Panama and India stand out as three countries that have implemented a large number of tobacco control policies over the past decade and recorded marked declines in the prevalence of daily smoking since 2005, compared with decreases recorded between 1990 and 2005.
The 10 countries with the largest number of smokers in 2015 were China, India, Indonesia, USA, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Brazil, Germany and the Philippines.
Together they accounted for almost two—thirds of the worlds smokers (63.6 per cent).
