The New York Times (2/8, A6, McNeil, Jr.) reports that "[t]obacco could kill up to a billion people during the 21st century, as cigarette sales soar in poor and middle-income countries even as they drop in wealthier ones," according to a report issued Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO). New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's (I) foundation financed the study, which "suggests a six-point program for fighting the tobacco industry's influence." The recommended strategies include "raising cigarette taxes, banning smoking in public places, enforcing laws against giving or advertising tobacco to children, monitoring tobacco use, warning people about the dangers, and offering free or inexpensive help to smokers trying to quit."

        According to the Washington Post (2/8, A15, Brown), the study "provides the first comprehensive look at tobacco use, as well as smoking control and taxation policies, in 179 countries." The investigators concluded that "[t]obacco use is a risk factor for six of the world's eight leading causes of death, and causes about one in every 10 deaths of adults now." If current trends continue, the "toll is expected to rise steeply as tobacco companies target new customers, particularly women, in low-income countries, WHO officials said."

        The Wall Street Journal (2/8, B4, McKay) reports that the study "represents the WHO's toughest stance in the fight against tobacco." Currently, the WHO "has an antitobacco treaty that requires 152 participating countries to restrict tobacco advertising, impose tax increases on cigarettes, and smoking bans." Furthermore, the "treaty also encourages countries to explore litigation against tobacco firms." The agency "hopes that governments can replicate at least some of the success Mr. Bloomberg has had in New York City with a tough and highly publicized campaign against tobacco." Mr. Bloomberg's campaign "has included bans on smoking in restaurants and workplaces, tax increases on cigarettes, antitobacco advertising, and other measures."

        The AFP (2/8) quotes WHO Director General Margaret Chan, M.D., as saying, "While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually all countries need to do more."

        The UPI (2/8) points out that the American Cancer Society says that it "strongly supports" the WHO's stance on tobacco, since the drug "is the leading cause of preventable death in the world, killing an average of one person every six seconds."

        The WHO has estimated that the worldwide death toll from tobacco-related illnesses will exceed "eight million a year by 2030 if nothing is done," the AP (2/8, Lederer) reports. This means that about 175 million people will die from tobacco-related causes between 2005 and 2030. Ultimately, the toll will reach one billion by 2100, WHO officials said.

        The WHO report stated that "raising taxes was the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, noting that a 70 percent increase would prevent a quarter of all tobacco-related deaths," Bloomberg (2/8, Goldman, Varner) adds. The report also focused on China, "the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco," where approximately "60 percent of men smoke cigarettes,...compared with 21 percent in the U.S." The WHO data "cited a survey that said most urban residents of China support a ban on tobacco advertising, higher tobacco taxes, and smoke-free public places."

        Time (2/7, Sharples) reported that according to the study, "nearly two thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries -- China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Russia, and Turkey," with China alone accounting "for nearly 30 percent of all smokers worldwide." Presently, "only five percent of the world's population lives in countries -- predominately in Western Europe -- that have any antismoking policies in place." The six strategies devised by the WHO are intended to reverse the current trend.

        In its Health Highlights section, HealthDay (2/8) notes that according to WHO estimates, "more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries by 2030."

        AHN (2/8, Duerme), the New York Sun (2/8, Rauh), and WebMD (2/8, Hitti) also cover the story.

        EU reconsidering ban on snus sales. The Wall Street Journal (2/8, Cohen) reports that the European Union (EU) "is studying whether to lift its 1992 ban on snus sales." Snus is a "Scandinavian chewing tobacco," which tobacco advocates say "is safer than smoking, and can help nicotine addicts reduce the risk of cancer." A study published in The Lancet in 2007 suggested that "weaning smokers onto snus might be a good idea." Another study published in the same journal "said snus users don't have a greater risk of lung or oral cancers than people who never smoke." In addition, the study concluded that while "snus users are twice as likely as nonsmokers to contract pancreatic cancer, they are less likely to have it than smokers." Still, some healthcare experts remained unconvinced by snus arguments. For instance, Sir Alexander Macara, M.B., FRCP., former chairman of the British Medical Association and an expert on public health and addiction, stated, "The medical evidence in favor of snus is ambiguous, not definitive."