The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report that points out the projected cost in human lives related to tobacco use over the rest of this century.  According to this report, tobacco use will be responsible for up to 1 billion deaths over the next 100 years.

The statistics cited by the WHO:

• 100 million people died of tobacco-related causes during the 20th century.
• Tobacco currently kills 5.4 million people per year.
• Tobacco use makes six of the world’s eight leading causes of death — including heart disease, stroke, and cancer — more likely.

“Of the more than 1 billion smokers alive today, around 500 million will be killed by tobacco,” states the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008.

They urge rapid action to stave off the millions of deaths each year related to tobacco use.  Many of these deaths will occur in third world nations without sophisticated treatments for diseases like emphysema and cancer.

The WHO proposes six policies to reduce global tobacco deaths:

• Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies.
• Protect people from tobacco smoke.
• Offer help to quit tobacco use.
• Warn about the dangers of tobacco.
• Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.
• Raise taxes on tobacco.