Tobacco causes 3 million deaths per year due to cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular diseases due to tobacco use cost the lives of 3 million people a year and represent huge expenses for national economies. However, most of the population does not associate smoking with these conditions, which are the main cause of death in the world.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that tobacco causes 12% of cardiovascular diseases .
The World No Tobacco Day , celebrated every May 31st, is dedicated this year precisely to raise awareness about the relationship between smoking and heart diseases such as heart attacks or strokes.
People unite tobacco consumption, especially with lung cancer. There is less knowledge of the relationship you have with cardiovascular diseases.
"Generally, people unite tobacco consumption, especially with lung cancer. There is less awareness of the relationship it has with cardiovascular diseases, "said Adriana Blanco, head of the Risk and Nutrition Factors Unit of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
In the American continent, tobacco causes 222,000 deaths or 11% of the two million annual deaths attributed to it.
The economic cost
According to the WHO, the global cost of smoking adds up to 1.4 trillion dollars per year , 400 billion of them in direct medical costs and one trillion in indirect costs.
In America, these expenses amount to 33,500 million in direct costs, of which 30% is attributed to cardiovascular diseases.
The tobacco epidemic consumes large portions of national budgets and is particularly burdensome for low and middle income countries, where almost 80% of the more than one billion smokers in the world live.
Unlike cancer, when you quit smoking, the risk of cardiovascular disease goes down very quickly.
The WHO calculates between $ 1,000 and $ 1,500 the cost of treatment for a smoker to stop smoking , a worthwhile investment if one thinks about the savings that governments can achieve not only long but also in the short term.
"Unlike cancer, when you stop smoking, the risk of cardiovascular disease goes down very quickly. It practically reduces by half in a year, "Blanco said.
Smoking leaves a total of 7 million people dead every year, not all of them smokers. The WHO figures in 900,000 deaths of non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke .
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that tobacco causes 12% of cardiovascular diseases. World Bank / Aisha Faquir
Fighting smoking
In order to combat tobacco use, WHO has implemented the MPOWER program, which outlines specific measures consistent with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control .
Those measures are:
Monitor tobacco consumption and apply preventive policies;
Protect the population from exposure to tobacco smoke by prohibiting the consumption of this
product in enclosed public spaces, workplaces and public transport;
Provide support to quit the smoking habit through generalized aids to all smokers and with cost coverage, including a brief advice offered by health workers and national telephone help lines, at no cost to the user;
Warn of the dangers of tobacco using neutral / standard packaging and / or large graphic health warnings on all tobacco packages, and carry out effective campaigns in the media to warn the population of the harm caused by the consumption of tobacco. this product and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Prohibit all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; Y
Increase taxes on tobacco products and make them less affordable.
According to WHO, few smokers understand the magnitude of the health risks of tobacco use.
In addition, the data reveals that most of those who know these risks want to stop smoking, but need help to do so. With proper advice and medication you can double the chances of a smoker getting out of habit.
Unfortunately, only 24 countries, representing only 15% of the world's population, have comprehensive national services to help tobacco users who want to quit smoking. In contrast, a quarter of low-income countries lack any assistance for these people.
Tobacco consumption has decreased from the year 2000 to the present, both globally and in the Region of the Americas, but the reduction is insufficient to meet the global objectives that seek to protect people from death and suffering because of cardiovascular diseases and other noncommunicable diseases. At present, more than a third of the countries of the Americas are not implementing a single tobacco control measure.
