Australian specialists have already completed a study, according to which two-thirds of smokers are at risk of premature death due to cigarette addiction if they do not give up this harmful habit. More than 200,000 people participated in the study. According to the conclusions of specialists, second-hand smoke is no less dangerous, which causes serious health problems: stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and sudden infant death syndrome. That is why the World Health Organization recommends smoke-free public places. The American Hospital Tbilisi – AHT is involved in this campaign, whose leading doctors and specialists actively carry out preventive measures to reduce the risk of lung cancer and urge patients to give up the harmful habit. 

Australian researchers claim that around 8 million people die prematurely each year due to cigarette addiction. This alarming statistic applies not only to “tobacco use” or smoking, but also to alternatives to cigarettes, including chewing tobacco, which also cause premature death. 

In total, during the 20th century, tobacco use caused an estimated 100 million premature deaths, mostly in wealthy countries. Today, the situation is quite different, as the burden of serious health problems caused by smoking is shifting from wealthy countries to middle- and low-income countries. According to some studies, experts estimate that in the 21st century, tobacco use could cause a billion premature deaths. 

According to various studies, in 2017, nearly 131,000 deaths worldwide were caused by direct smoking; 21,000 deaths were caused by second-hand smoke. This means that 151,000 deaths, or one in seven people, died prematurely due to tobacco use. 

It is worth noting that the specialists in the study pointed out several countries where one in five people dies due to smoking. These countries are: China, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greenland.

According to a new study by Australian experts, mortality rates from tobacco use vary around the world, with some countries having higher rates and others having lower rates. 

For example, these rates are dramatically higher in Asia and Eastern Europe. This means that out of every 100,000 people, as many as 150 die from cigarette smoking in Asia and Eastern Europe. 

In some of the world's lowest-income countries, such as Sudan or Nigeria, where very few people use tobacco, the mortality rate is almost ten times lower.

According to a new study, since 1950, lung cancer mortality rates due to tobacco use have been high in the United States and Spain. However, the situation was exactly the same in many European countries. In the United States, lung cancer mortality rates peaked in the 1980s, and in Spain relatively late - in the 1990s. Based on these figures, specialists concluded that the greatest risk factor for the spread of lung cancer is tobacco use and dependence on it. 

At the end of the study, specialists recommend that the best ways to reduce tobacco (cigarette) addiction and prevent serious health problems caused by smoking are to increase the prices of cigarettes and other alternative products; also, to ban tobacco and tobacco product advertising in the mass media; to reduce the area of cigarette consumption (in hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, and other public institutions); and to launch an active PR campaign urging people to quit smoking and promoting a healthy lifestyle.