Developing Countries

What millions of people don't know can hurt them.

More than 900 million tobacco users live in third world countries. Tobacco plays a big part in the continuing poverty of low-income households and countries. In the poorest households in some low-income countries as much as 10% of total household expenditure is on tobacco. This means that these families have less money to spend on basic items such as food, education and health care.

Death from tobacco consumption is now 4.9 million people a year. If no action is taken to stop tobacco use, annual deaths are expected to reach 8.3 million by 2030. More than 80% of these deaths will be in Third World countries.¹

Even though we know about the harm caused by tobacco, its use continues to increase, especially in developing countries. Tobacco companies see that their markets are growing smaller in more developed countries (like the USA) where strong campaigns against tobacco use are taking place, so they have begun to target people of all ages in developing countries. Big Tobacco knows that many of the people in these countries don’t have access to all the facts and information that we have in this country.

For more on Tobacco in the Third World click here.

[FOOTNOTE] ¹ ”Why is tobacco a public health priority?,” World Health Organization, December 1, 2004