The Tobacco Atlas (3rd Edition)

Today I received my 2009 copy of The Tobacco Atlas (3rd edition). This an excellent and comprehensive report that maps the history, documents the current situation, and predicts the future of the tobacco epidemic.

For tobacco geeks like myself it is packed full of fascinating information. Let me just a share a few snippets with you. Did you know that….

- The cigarette-rolling machine was invented in 1881.
- Cigarettes account for 96% of total sales of manufactured tobacco products worldwide.
- There are more male smokers in China (311m) than people in the United States.
- China consumes 37% of the world’s cigarettes.
- There are almost twice as many female smokers in the USA (24m) as any other country in the world (next most is China at 13.5m).
- On current trends, 6.3 trillion cigarettes will be consumed in 2010, which is 900 for every man, woman and child on the planet.
- The top producers of tobacco leaf are China , Brazil, India, and USA. In 2007 these countries products comprised two-thirds of world tobacco production.
- The risk of dying from lung cancer is 23 TIMES higher among men who smoke cigarettes compared with nonsmokers.
- In 2005, 11% (595 billion) of the total world trade in cigarettes were illegal (smuggled/counterfeit/tax avoidant)
- 1997 to 2007 Philip Morris tobacco company contributed $14 million in political contributions
- The United States remains one of a handful of counties (others include Mozambique, Ethiopia and Uzbekistan) that have not become full partners in the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Almost anything you want to know about global tobacco use can be found in this excellent publication.

The online version of The Tobacco Atlas (3rd Ed) can be found at:
http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/

pdf versions of paper chapters can be found at:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/AA/content/AA_2_5_9x_Tobacco_Atlas_3rd_Ed.asp

Labels: jonathan foulds, Tobacco Atlas

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