Austrian MPs scrapped a smoking ban in bars and restaurants that was due to come into force in May, despite a petition in its favor collecting 545,000 signatures. / AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR
(Eagle News) — “Tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure are major causes of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and stroke, contributing to approximately 3 million deaths per year.”
This was according to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) released on Thursday, May 31, coinciding with World No Tobacco Day 2018.
WHO said that while tobacco use and second hand smoke exposure are leading causes of heart attack and heart disease, there is “serious lack of knowledge of the multiple health risks associated with tobacco.”
“Most people know that using tobacco causes cancer and lung disease, but many people aren’t aware that tobacco also causes heart disease and stroke – the world’s leading killers,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“This World No Tobacco Day, WHO is drawing attention to the fact that tobacco doesn’t just cause cancer, it quite literally breaks hearts,” he said.
The latest WHO report noted that while tobacco use has declined markedly since 2000, this reduction is still “insufficient to meet globally agreed targets aimed at protecting people from death and suffering from cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases.”
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including tar and others that can narrow arteries and damage blood vessels, and nicotine, which is associated with increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
–Lack of awareness —
But many people are unaware that nearly half of those deaths, around three million, are due to cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and stroke, WHO warned.
WHO and the World Heart Federation highlighted the link between tobacco use and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
Cardiovascular or heart disease is the world’s leading cause of death. It is responsible for 17.9 million deaths annually or 44 percent of all deaths due to non-communicable disease (NCD).
WHO described as “alarming” and “substantial” the low awareness in many countries that tobacco use or second-hand smoking can cause heart attacks.
Many people know that tobacco use increase cancer risk, but not its link to heart disease.
In China, for instance, more than 60% of the population is not aware that smoking can lead to heart attacks, said the Global Adult Tobacco Survey.
In India and Indonesia, more than half of adults do not know smoking can cause stroke.
“Governments have the power in their hands to protect their citizens from suffering needlessly from heart disease,” said Dr Douglas Bettcher, WHO Director for the Prevention of NCDs.
“Measures that reduce the risks to heart health posed by tobacco include making all indoor public and workplaces completely smoke-free and promoting use of tobacco package warnings that demonstrate the health risks of tobacco.”