One in Three Men Will Die Due to Smoking in China

Scientists in China conducted two extensive studies that were 15 years apart from each other. They kept track of men who smoked cigarettes, making notes on how smoking affected their health. The first study, conducted in the 1990s, tracked a quarter of a million Chinese men. The second study tracked half million women and men and is currently ongoing.

The results of the study are astounding, stating that more men than women die of tobacco related deaths in China. That number in 2010 reached an all time high according to the study, reporting a million deaths. If the Chinese public continues to go down this road, the number will be high as two million in 2030.

Good news is that the number of women in China who smoke have decreased and with it, the threat of premature death from smoking. The researchers explained that in recent decades, an increasingly high number of men have took up smoking, doubling smoke-related death to 20% from 10% in the 1990s.

Most deaths due to smoking occur in men aged 40 to 79. What is shocking is the number of deaths that occur in urban areas of China, standing at a stark 25% and growing with time. Men in China who smoke are dying of lung cancer and developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and it is increasing their chances of having a stroke.

Richard Peto, a professor at Britain’s University of Oxford, who co-led the research stated, “Over the past 20 years tobacco deaths have been decreasing in Western countries, partly because of price increases. For China, a substantial increase in cigarette prices could save tens of millions of lives.”

In his report, he suggests that China needs to increase the price of cigarettes if it wants to see tobacco-related decrease in their country, especially amongst men. If the problem persists, China will see one in three men dying due to smoking, unless most of them completely quit.

Liming Li, a professor at the Academy of Medical Sciences, who co-led the research with Richard Peto stated, “Without rapid, committed, and widespread action to reduce smoking levels, China will face enormous numbers of premature deaths.

The study is published in The Lancet medical journal and explains that two-thirds of men in China will die of smoking before the age of 20. The results of the study are frightening for the nation because if they do not take action to dissuade people from smoking, they number of deaths will increase.

However, this study should an eye-opener for not only China, but for other countries as well who might also have a grave smoking problem among its youth, but are unaware due to the lack of studies conducted to find out. Along with China, other countries should band together to send a clear message to the youth about the dangers of smoking, as a label on the pack doesn’t work, but is just a formality imposed by the government on cigarette companies.