Bangladesh sets “death clock” updating tobacco-related deaths
Bangladesh unveiled a “Death Clock” in its capital to raise awareness about smoking-related deaths in a country which ranks among the world’s highest in tobacco consumption.
Around 57,000 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases in Bangladesh, on average 156 people per day, said Sayed Badrul Karim from the Progga NGO, which is supported by the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
The “Death Clock”, which keeps a rolling tally of people dying of tobacco-related illnesses each day, was installed on a busy road near Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s residence and on the way to the national parliament house in the capital Dhaka.
“The Death Clock will be on until the next parliament session which will be in session on January 27,” said Taifur Rahman, Advocacy and Media Coordinator in Bangladesh of CTFK.
The aim was to attract the attention of policymakers and win public support. It was unveiled by Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Saturday.
An estimated 58 percent of men and 29 percent of women use some form of tobacco in Bangladesh. The country is considering introducing a law to restrict the use of tobacco and increasing taxes on tobacco products.
(Reporting By Serajul Quadir; Editing by Myra MacDonald)
Tobacco-Related Cancers Fact Sheet
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
- Lung cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death in our society. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
- Lung cancer estimates for 2012 (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012):
New cases of lung cancer: 226,160
Males: 116,470
Females: 109,690
Deaths from lung cancer: 160,340
Males: 87,750
Females: 72,590
- Besides lung cancer, tobacco use also increases the risk for cancers of the mouth, lips, nasal cavity (nose) and sinuses, larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterus, cervix, colon/rectum, ovary (mucinous), and acute myeloid leukemia. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
- In the United States, tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths; this equals about 443,000 early deaths each year. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
- Tobacco use accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 80% of lung cancer deaths. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
- Cigarette use has declined dramatically since the release of the first US Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health in 1964. Even so, about 21.6% of men and 16.5% of women still smoked cigarettes in 2011, with about 78% of these people smoking daily. (Source: Current cigarette smoking among adults – United States, 2011)
- Cigarette smoking among adults age 18 and older who smoked 30 cigarettes or more a day went down significantly from 2005 to 2011 – from 12.6% to 9.1%. But the number of adults who smoke 1 to 9 cigarettes a day went up during this same time – from 16.4% to 22%. And still, nearly 44 million American adults smoke. (Source: Current cigarette smoking among adults – United States, 2011)
Tobacco has killed 50 million people in the last 10 years, and tobacco is responsible for more than 15 percent of all male deaths and 7 percent of female deaths, the new Tobacco Atlas report found. (http://www.tobaccoatlas.org)
In China, tobacco is already the number one killer - causing 1.2 million deaths a year - and that number is expected to rise to 3.5 million a year by 2030, the report said.
That is part of a broader shift, with smoking rates in the developed world declining but numbers growing in poorer regions, said Michael Eriksen, one of the report’s authors and director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University.
“If we don’t act, the projections for the future are even more morbid. And the burden of death caused by tobacco is increasingly one of the developing world, particularly Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” he said in an interview.
Almost 80 percent of people who die from tobacco-related illnesses now come from low- and middle-income countries. In Turkey, 38 percent of male deaths are from smoking-related illnesses, though smoking also remains the biggest killer of American women too.
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(Reuters)