DISPENSARY CORNER 19 Oct 15
October 19, 2015
China faces a smoking “death
epidemic,” according to a study
published last week in The Lancet,
which estimates that a third of all
men currently aged less than 20 in
the country will die prematurely if
they do not quit cigarettes.
The research was conducted
by scientists from Oxford
University, the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and the Chinese
Academy of Medical Sciences,
who conducted two nationwide
studies covering 15 years apart,
reports the BBC.
Five years ago about one million
people in China died from tobacco
usage, with the researchers saying
based on current trends this will
double to an annual death toll of
two million by 2030, described as
a “growing epidemic of premature
death”.
More than two thirds of men in
China begin smoking before they
turn 20, with co-author Richard
Peto saying the only hope is for
people to quit the habit.
“The key to avoid this huge wave
of deaths is cessation, and if you
are a young man, don’t start.”
And Russia is also addressing
addiction - this time to vodka
- in the form of a proposal
to introduce alcohol-free
Wednesdays.
St Petersburg-based politician
Andrey Anokhin says his
suggestion is a gentler way to
tackle the problem than strict
measures attempted by former
Soviet leader and teetotaller
Mikhail Gorbachev which resulted
in widespread resentment.
Anokhin’s idea of a weekly
“Temperance Day” would be
complemented by reduced hours
for alcohol sales during the week,
along with existing measures
introduced some years ago which
strictly restrict drinking in public
venues.
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