Worldwide, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health estimated that there are 1.1 billion smokers, including 930 million in the developing world. The death toll from smoking was estimated at 4.83 million annually, including 2.41 million in developing countries and 2.4 million in industrialized countries.

Eighty-four percent of smoking victims in the developing nations were men.

Amanda Sandford of the group Action on Smoking and Health said growing population was part of the reason for the trend, but that tobacco firms also are to blame. "They are aggressively marketing their products to developing countries," she said. "I think we'll be seeing this until the countries themselves put a stop to it."

The study was published in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal The Lancet.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Chantelle on 04 Aug 08 07:14 PM EDT

what is the death rate of smokers in New Zealand? i am asking this for a school project about what the effects of smoking. please and thankyou

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