Tobacco use and tobacco-caused illnesses constitute a global epidemic. Worldwide, nearly 3.5 million deaths are attributed to tobacco each year. Based on current trends, this will increase to 10 million deaths annually by 2020, with seven million of these deaths occurring in developing countries.
It is predicted that by 2020 tobacco use will cause 12% of all deaths globally. This will exceed the combined toll from HIV, TB, maternal mortality, car accidents, suicide, and homicide.
Though the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will take years of negotiation with governments to convince them to sign, it holds enormous promise for promoting effective global tobacco control. |
