Tobacco is likely to kill 1 in 3 men in China

One in three of all the young men in China will eventually be killed by tobacco, unless a substantial proportion stop smoking, according to new research published in the Lancet.

According to the study, two- thirds of the young men in China start to smoke, mostly before age 20, and the study found that around half of those who start smoking cigarettes

The results show that in China, the annual number of tobacco deaths, mostly among men, had reached one million by 2010 and, if current trends continue, it will be two million by 2030

as young men will eventually be killed by tobacco, unless they stop permanently.

The study led by researchers from Oxford University, UK, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control conducted two large, nationally representative studies 15 years apart, tracking the health consequences of smoking in a large group of people in China.

The results show that in China, the annual number of tobacco deaths, mostly among men, had reached one million by 2010 and, if current trends continue, it will be two million by 2030. Among Chinese women, however, smoking rates have plummeted and the risk of premature death from tobacco is low and falling.

In recent decades, there has been a large increase in cigarette smoking by young men, and the research shows the consequences that are now emerging. The proportion of all male deaths at ages 40- 79 that are attributed to smoking has doubled, from about 10 per cent in the early 1990s, to about 20 per cent now.

In urban areas this proportion is higher, at 25 per cent, and is still rising. In rural areas, it is currently lower, but is set to rise even more steeply than in cities, due to the high prevalence of smoking and low rate of cessation in rural China.

Conversely, the women of working age in China now smoke much less than the older generation.