"One out of every two smokers die of a disease caused by his or her own smoking. It kills 50% of its lifetime consumers. Every day 11000 people are dying because of smoking", says Dr. Sajeela Maini, Tobacco Cessation Specialist with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India. She is the...
Q. What is the connection between tobacco use and poverty? A. The net economic effect of tobacco is to decrease an economy's productive capacity through death, increased poverty and higher health care costs. The tobacco epidemic makes global health inequalities worse. In most countries, tobacco use is higher among the poor than the rich and the poor suffer more from the consequences of tobacco-related diseases, creating economic hardship and perpetuating the cycle of poverty and illness. The early death of the primary wage earner is especially catastrophic for poor families and communities. In addition, money spent on tobacco means money not spent on basic necessities such as food, shelter, education and health care. In some developing countries, the lowest income group spend more than 10% of their household income on tobacco. |
