At current smoking rates a third of all young men in China will die from tobacco-related causes, according to a study published in The Lanced medical journal Friday.
The study found that two-thirds of young men in China start smoking, most before they are 20 years old, and half of them will eventually die as a result. Tobacco-related deaths in China are set to double to two million by 2030, according to the study.
“Without rapid, committed, and widespread action to reduce smoking levels, China will face enormous numbers of premature deaths,” said Liming Li, a professor at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, reports Reuters. The Chinese government has been making efforts to curb smoking in some urban areas, including movement toward banning smoking in public places.
Tobacco use in China has increased markedly in recent decades, even as smoking rates for women have fallen sharply.
[Reuters]
- Meet TIME’s Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
- After Visiting Both Ends of the Earth, I Realized How Much Trouble We’re In
- Google Is Making It Easier to Remove Personal Info From Search
- Oil Companies Posted Huge Profits. Here’s Where The Cash Will Go (Hint: Not Climate)
- Column: We Asked Hundreds of Americans About Abortion. Their Feelings Were Complicated
- A Short History of the Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Marcos Family
- Long-Lasting Birth Control Is Already Hard to Get. Advocates Worry It May Only Get Worse
- Who Should Be on the 2022 TIME100? Vote Now
