Second-hand smoke killing 600,000 people a year

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MUNICH: Passive smoking claims more than 600,000 lives each year around the world - an estimated 1 per cent of all deaths, a global study has found.

In the first look at the global impact of second-hand smoking, researchers analysed data from 2004 for 192 countries. They found 40 per cent of children and more than 30 per cent of non-smoking men and women regularly breathe in second-hand smoke. Scientists then estimated that passive smoking causes about 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 deaths from lower respiratory disease, 36,900 deaths from asthma and 21,400 deaths from lung cancer a year, according to the study published yesterday in the medical journal The Lancet.

Women accounted for 47 per cent of the deaths, children 28 per cent and men 26 per cent. Deaths in adults were spread evenly across the globe, the research, led by Annette Pruess-Ustuen of the World Health Organisation in Geneva, showed.

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''There can be no question that the 1 billion smokers in the world are exposing billions of non-smokers to second-hand smoke, a disease-causing indoor air pollutant,'' Heather Wipfli and Jonathan Samet of the University of Southern California said in an accompanying editorial.

''Few sources of indoor-air pollution can be completely eliminated. However, smoking indoors can be eliminated - with substantial benefits, as shown by this new set of estimates.''

''This helps us understand the real toll of tobacco,'' said Armando Peruga, a program manager at the World Health Organisation's Tobacco-Free Initiative, who led the study. He said the 603,000 deaths from second-hand smoking should be added to the 5.1 million deaths that smoking itself causes every year.

Dr Peruga said WHO was particularly concerned about the 165,000 children who die of smoke-related respiratory infections, mostly in south-east Asia and Africa. ''The mix of infectious diseases and second-hand smoke is a deadly combination,'' he said.

Children whose parents smoke have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. Their lungs may also grow more slowly than children whose parents don't smoke.

Dr Peruga and colleagues found the highest numbers of people exposed to second-hand smoke are in Europe and Asia. The lowest rates of exposure were in the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean and Africa.

Second-hand smoke had its biggest impact on women, killing about 281,000. In many parts of the world, women are at least 50 per cent more likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke than men. While many Western countries have introduced smoking bans in public places, experts said it would be difficult to legislate further.

The British Lung Foundation is petitioning the government to outlaw smoking in cars. Helena Shovelton, the foundation's chief executive, said smoking parents frequently underestimated the danger their habit was doing to their children.

''It's almost as if people are in denial,'' she said. ''They absolutely would not do something dangerous like leaving their child in the middle of the road but somehow, smoking in front of them is fine.''

The researchers used 2004 data gathered in 192 countries. The study estimates that 10.9 million years of good health were lost.

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慕尼黑：被动吸烟声称拥有超过60万的生命，每年在世界各地 - 估计占所有死亡人数的百分之一，一个全球性的研究发现。

在AT的二手烟对全球的影响先看看，研究人员分析了192个国家从2004年的数据。他们发现百分之儿童，占非经常吸烟的男性和女性在二手烟雾吸入超过百分之30 40。然后，科学家估计，被动吸烟造成约379,000人死于心脏疾病，下呼吸道165,000人死于疾病，36,900人死亡，21400哮喘病因肺癌死亡的一年，根据刊登在医学杂志柳叶刀昨天的研究。

妇女占百分之47的死亡，儿童和男子28百分之百分之百分之26。成人死亡遍布全球均匀，这项研究由吕秀莲普鲁斯- Ustuen的世界卫生组织在日内瓦带领下，显示。

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''毫无疑问，在世界10亿烟民揭露非吸烟者十亿美元，二手烟雾，引起疾病的室内空气污染物，''希瑟Wipfli和乔纳森沙美的南加州大学说在随后的社论。

''的室内空气污染的少数来源可以完全消除。但是，可以消除室内吸烟 - 以本一套新的估计显示实实在在的好处，''。

''这有助于我们了解烟草的实际收费，阿曼Peruga ''说，在世界卫生组织的无烟行动项目经理，谁领导了这项研究。他说，从吸二手烟的603,000人死亡应增加5.1万人死亡，吸烟每年导致本身。

医生说，世界卫生组织是Peruga特别关心孩子谁165,000烟雾有关的呼吸系统感染主要是在东南亚，非洲等死有关。 ''的传染病和二手烟雾组合是一个致命的组合，''他说。

儿童的父母吸烟的一婴儿猝死综合征，耳朵感染，肺炎，支气管炎和哮喘的风险较高。他们的肺部也可能增长慢于儿童，其父母不吸烟。

Peruga博士和同事发现暴露于二手烟的人的最高数字在欧洲和亚洲。接触率最低的是在美洲，东地中海和非洲。

二手烟雾已对妇女的影响最大，约281,000死亡。在世界许多地区，妇女至少百分之更容易暴露在二手烟雾比男性50。虽然许多西方国家已经实行了在公共场所吸烟的禁令，专家称，这是难以进一步立法。

英国肺脏基金会申请的是政府取缔汽车吸烟。海伦娜Shovelton，基金会的首席执行官说，吸烟的父母经常被低估的危险的习惯正在给自己的孩子。

''这几乎就像人否认，她说：''。 ''他们绝对不会不喜欢留在了道路，但不知何故，在他们中间的孩子面前吸烟危险的东西是好的。''

研究人员利用2004年在192个国家收集的数据。该研究估计，1090万美元的良好健康年丢失。