This is no doubt a piece of news that went practically unnoticed in newspapers and broadcasted news, but it sure made many people thunderstruck when they found out that Lebanon holds the third place in suicide by cigarette, not to mention the personal financial cost. The average Lebanese smokes 3,023 cigarettes annually.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of countries with the highest per capita consumption of cigarettes. First came China with 4,124 per capita annually, which amounts to 11 or 12 Cigarettes per day. Second comes Belarus, followed by Lebanon in third position, with an average of 3,023 cigarettes per person annually. The country that smokes the least is Guinea, where the average person smokes about 15 cigarettes every 24 days.
200 Million Women Smokers!
Of the one billion worldwide smokers, 200 millions of them are women, driving death numbers to 1.5 million women every year, out of the five million smokers. These women live in countries with low to average income. It is projected that about 8 million women will die of smoking every year by the year 2030.
Women are harmed much more than men!
As compared to other women, those who smoke have a higher risk of sterility, delayed pregnancy, premature birth, and a higher risk of developing cancer such as cervix cancer.
64% deaths due to Second Hand Smoking!
Here is the tragedy. For even if you are committed to not smoking, if you live in a smoke-filled environment, you are in danger of death, obstruction of arteries, high blood pressure, and black lungs according to WHO. Second Hand smoke, that finds its way into your lungs, causes 430,000 cases of premature deaths every year in the world, and 64% of which are women and children.
In some countries, the risks associated with second hand smoking is higher than the risks of directly smoking. And over 90% of the world’s population is not protected by comprehensive laws that prohibit smoking in public areas. That is why people, regardless of age or gender, should protect themselves of second hand smoking.
And here’s Lebanon Time’s commentary: what do you say, do you think that all the smoke emanating from wars in the East is healthy?