When I became Director-General of WHO, in 1998, estimates indicated that 4 million people were dying each year as a result of tobacco use. Forward projections suggested a major epidemic with 10 million deaths a year in 2030, most of them in developing countries. This is more than the combined deaths from malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and several major maternal and childhood conditions. That is why I declared global tobacco control as a priority. Data provided by WHO's member states confirm the dramatic picture.
Tobacco causes one fifth of all deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.
Tobacco causes one in three cancers deaths world-wide. The future looks bleak. The continued marketing of tobacco products to the youth of today means millions of deaths in 30 to 40 years' time. One in four of these young people started the habit before the age of 10. More than two-thirds of them would like to quit.