|
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Kill 7 Million
Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs prematurely kill about seven million people worldwide each year and the number is rising, according to a study released in Australia on Tuesday. Professor Juergen Rehm, director of Switzerland's Addiction Research Institute said tobacco was the number one killer addiction in 2000, responsible for 4.9 million deaths or 71% of the total drug-related deaths-a jump of more than one million since 1990. The rise was most marked in developing nations although most smoking-related diseases were found in industrialized countries. About 1.8 million deaths were attributable to the use of alcohol, about 26% of all drug-related deaths, with the proportion greatest in the Americas and Europe. Russia's alcohol problem was particularly pronounced. Illicit drugs caused about 223,000 deaths, or 3% of all drug-related deaths.
|
