By David Liu, PHD
Sunday Aug 12, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Many people may only know that tobacco smoking causes lung cancer. But in fact tobacco is responsible for about 10% of all deaths at least in Georgia, according to K. Gvinianidze and D. Tsereteli of National Center for Disease Control and Public Health in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Using a formula commonly used in the UK and US, the researchers estimated that active tobacco smoking was responsible for 30% of deaths caused by cancer, 10% of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, 9% of deaths from respiratory disease and 7% of deaths from digestive disease for the year of 2008.
The estimate was based on data from 2010 STEPS survey in Georgia and Georgia Reproductive Health Survey 2005. The findings were reported in May 2012 in Georgian Medical News.
In the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco smoking is responsible for 20% of all deaths or 443,000 deaths each year.
A breakdown of tobacco-related deaths is tabulated as follows.
| Disease | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| *In this table, deaths due to secondhand smoke and fire burn are not included. | |||
| Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer) | |||
| Lip, Oral Cavity, Pharynx | 3,749 | 1,144 | 4,893 |
| Esophagus | 6,961 | 1,631 | 8,592 |
| Stomach | 1,900 | 584 | 2,484 |
| Pancreas | 3,147 | 3,536 | 6,683 |
| Larynx | 2,446 | 563 | 3,009 |
| Trachea, Lung, Bronchus | 78,680 | 46,842 | 125,522 |
| Cervix Uteri | 0 | 447 | 447 |
| Kidney and Renal Pelvis | 2,827 | 216 | 3,043 |
| Urinary Bladder | 3,907 | 1,076 | 4,983 |
| Acute Myeloid Leukemia | 855 | 337 | 1,192 |
| Subtotal | 104,472 | 56,376 | 160,848 |
| Cardiovascular Diseases | |||
| Ischemic Heart Disease | 50,884 | 29,121 | 80,005 |
| Other Heart Disease | 12,994 | 8,060 | 21,004 |
| Cerebrovascular Disease | 7,896 | 8,026 | 15,922 |
| Atherosclerosis | 1,282 | 611 | 1,893 |
| Aortic Aneurysm | 5,628 | 2,791 | 8,419 |
| Other Arterial Disease | 505 | 749 | 1,254 |
| Subtotal | 79,139 | 49,358 | 128,497 |
| Respiratory Diseases | |||
| Pneumonia, Influenza | 6,042 | 4,381 | 10,423 |
| Bronchitis, Emphysema | 7,536 | 6,391 | 13,927 |
| Chronic Airway Obstruction | 40,217 | 38,771 | 78,988 |
| Subtotal | 53,795 | 49,543 | 103,338 |
| Grand Total | 237,406 | 155,277 | 392,683 |
Source: CDC, Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004
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