Tobacco is a risk factor for some 25 diseases, and while its effects on health are well known, the scale of its impact on global disease may not be fully appreciated. Tobacco as a risk factor is expected to make a greater claim on health than any single disease. It is estimated that tobacco kills about 4 million people globally a year, and the death toll is expected to rise to 10 million per year by the 2020's or early 2030's, with 7 million deaths occurring in developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates that there are approximately 1.1 billion regular smokers in the world, which is one-third of the global population aged 15 years and older. Globally, roughly 47 percent of men and 12 percent of women smoke.
Tobacco kills more than half a million women per year worldwide.
This number is expected to double by 2020. Internationally, women are increasingly targeted by tobacco marketing. In recent years tobacco use has been declining in many countries in North America and Western Europe but increasing in many others, especially in Asia. Studies from several countries show that for every 10 percent increase in the price of tobacco products, use declines two to eight percent. Price is an especially important factor among adolescents and those of lower socio-economic status.