Global tobacco survey: Key findings
A new global tobacco study found that about half the men in numerous developing nations use tobacco, and women in those regions are taking up smoking at an earlier age than they used to. Here's a look at key findings from the survey as well as graphic warning labels the Food and Drug Administration has placed on cigarette packages in an effort to deter smoking in the U.S. [Warning Graphic]
A new global tobacco study found that about half the men (49 percent) in numerous developing nations use tobacco, and 11 percent of women in those regions use tobacco as well.
A new global tobacco study found that about half the men (49 percent) in numerous developing nations use tobacco, and 11 percent of women in those regions use tobacco as well.
The study, the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), looked at smoking trends among people ages 15 and older from 16 countries, estimating that there are 852 million tobacco users in these countries.
Although women’s tobacco use rates remain significantly lower, women are beginning to smoke as early as men, around age 17.
Countries with the highest number of quitters were the U.S. and the U.K., as well as Brazil and Uruguay, “where tobacco control activities are strongest.”
Quit rates were lowest in China, India, Russia and Egypt. “In India and Bangladesh, smokeless tobacco use is very high and oral cancer rates are among the highest in the world,” says lead study author Gary Giovino.
China had the largest number of tobacco users overall, at 301 million people, followed by India, with 274 million. This is likely due to lack of anti-tobacco regulations.
Smoking rates were highest in Russia, however, where 60% of men and 22% of women use tobacco; by comparison, 53% of men and 2% of women in China use tobacco.
In the U.S., nine graphic cigarette warning labels were unveiled by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 to try to deter smoking and encourage those who smoke to quit.
The current warning labels as well as new, proposed labels would cover the upper portion of cigarette packs, both on the front and the back.
The new packaging and ads were to be in place by September 2012. The implementation date is now uncertain because of ongoing litigation.
The American Cancer Society said the old labels have been virtually invisible.
About 20 percent of the population still smokes, a number that has been pretty steady over the past five years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 443,000 people in the U.S. die from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke annually.
More than 8 million are living with a disease that's directly tied to smoking.
