“Five million people were killed due to smoking in the year of 2000 alone and half the deaths of the smokers aged 30 to 69” – researchers from Harvard University and the University of Queensland have calculated.

The major cause of death was cardiovascular disease. The heart disease alone killed over 670,000 in the developing counties and 1 million people in the developed countries. Lung cancer due to smoking killed over 500,000 people in the developed world. Chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD), bronchitis has also killed more people.

“We must not forget that there are real people with these statistics like mothers, fathers, and loved-ones who have suffered lost up to 30 years of life because of their smoking addiction”. - Said Amanda Sandford, of the anti-smoking charity Ash.

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