The American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation released the third edition of The Tobacco Atlas (www.tobaccoatlas.org), a reference book and online resource for journalists and policy-makers at the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit, which was held this week in Dublin.
The cancer summit is named after the American cyclist Lance Armstrong — who won the Tour de France a record seven times.
Representatives from governments, NGOs and advocates from over 65 countries attended the event, which has as its goal a world without cancer — a disease that will soon be the leading cause of death worldwide.
The atlas graphically depicts the global depth and breadth of tobacco use and confirms that Ireland and the UK are among the countries with the most effective tobacco-control policies. Some 2.1 million cancer deaths per year will be attributable to tobacco by 2015. By 2030, 83 per cent of these deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries.
The Irish and UK economies lost US$980 million and US$2.6 billion respectively in 2007 because of tobacco use, while the global economy lost a staggering US$500 billion.
Both Ireland and the UK have 100 per cent smoke-free laws that protect workers and members of the public from secondhand smoke exposure.
Both Ireland and the UK have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control global public health treaty.
About Greg Baxter
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