Yes. Despite decades of tobacco control efforts, there are still 1.1 billion people who smoke worldwide. Half of all those who smoke will die prematurely and painfully due to diseases directly linked to smoking. The World Health Organization predicts that 1 billion people will die of smoking-related diseases by the end of the 21st century.
Smoking is a leading cause of non-communicable diseases like cancer, heart disease and stroke around the globe.
80 per cent of the world’s smokers live in the world’s poorest countries where tobacco control measures are often poorly or partly implemented. The health systems in these countries are not well equipped to treat smoking-related disease effectively, nor to offer smokers support to quit.