Safrin visited Israel this week and said: "10 million people worldwide will die of tobacco-related causes in the next 25 years"
Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/cancer020405.html
The Cancer Society and the Israeli Council for the Prevention of Smoking hosted (Tuesday, March 29.3.2005, XNUMX) John Seprin, president of the International Cancer Society, for a special meeting at the Cancer Society building in Givatayim. During the meeting, Safrin presented alarming data from the world and Israel about smoking.
John Sprin, president of the International Cancer Society, said at the meeting: "Let me start with some brutal and hard data, tobacco kills and the people who market it are terrorists. Tobacco causes lung cancer, emphysema (lung swelling), stroke, heart disease, narrowing and blockage of arteries, mouth cancer, throat cancer, pharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach ulcer, low birth weight babies and death in the cradle
In fact, we know that continuous use of cigarettes kills at least half of its regular users - and at least 25% of them die in mid-life, at a time when their contribution to the economy is most significant to society and their family. If the current trend continues, over 10 million people worldwide will die of tobacco-related causes in the next 25 years and at least 3/4 of them in developing countries. Here in Israel 35% of men and 25% of women smoke. Among children aged 15, 24% of boys and 13% of girls smoke, over 12% of women in Israel smoke during pregnancy and as a result increase the risk of miscarrying their fetus. In 1990, smoking caused 12% of all male deaths in Israel.
In the next 30 years, more people worldwide are expected to die from smoking-related diseases than the total number of people who die from AIDS, tuberculosis, traffic accidents, birth complications, murder and suicide combined. If we do not intervene - the bomb is ticking, if we do not take the initiative - no one will do it in our place. Not only is the number of deaths from smoking on the rise, but the absolute numbers of all deaths caused by cancer is also on an alarming rise. Our success in fighting the causes of disease is significantly hampered by the burden of disease caused by smoking. By 2020 one third of all deaths worldwide will be caused by tobacco smoking and its terrorists. The bomb is ticking, if we don't take the initiative, no one will do it for us.
Of course, all these deaths create a huge dilemma for the tobacco industry - after all, this is an annual reduction in the customer base. Every year the industry has to entice and cause the addiction of another 5 million children just to renew its customer base.
You may be wondering how they do this and the answer is that if you have huge sums of money and you have no conscience and no regulation - it's quite easy. The tobacco companies focus all their marketing sophistication and influence a group of consumers who are the most vulnerable group in any company and the easiest to influence - children. And unfortunately, they are quite successful in doing so."
