Smoking deaths on the rise

The number of deaths attributed to smoking during 2015, at more than 6.4 million, was 4.7 percent up on that of 1990, according to a story in the Korea Herald, citing a Global Burden of Disease report.

The increase was said to be down to the rise in the world’s smoking population.

More than 930 million people were said to have smoked daily during 2015, seven percent more than in 1990, when 870 million were said to be daily smokers.

Smoking was said to cause one in 10 deaths worldwide, with half of those deaths occurring in four countries: China, India, the US and Russia.

China, India, the US, Russia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Japan, Brazil and Germany are said to account for two-thirds of global tobacco use.