Smoking kills 1mn Indians annually
The number of smokers is rising significantly in India claiming the lives of almost one million people a year, a report says.
According to a recent study, 900,000 people are dying due to smoking-related cases every year in India, and unless corrective action is taken soon, that number will rise to one million annually by 2010 and beyond.
The study was conducted by scientists from India, Canada and UK, and published in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
It said that smoking may soon account for 20 percent of all male deaths and 5 percent of all female deaths among Indians between the ages of 30 and 69.
The study did not examine the mortality risks of secondhand smoke, especially for children.
The study further said that half of the smoking deaths occur among the illiterate population.
Indian health authorities have urged the government to do more, but some politicians oppose further action because they want to protect the jobs of tobacco workers.
Source: presstv.ir
