The global tobacco epidemic kills more than seven million people each year, of which close to 9,00,000 are non-smokers dying from breathing smoke, said Shifa International Hospital consultant cardiologist Dr Yusuf Hasan on Thursday, adding that around 80 percent of more than 1 billion smokers worldwide reside in backward and developing countries. Addressing an awareness campaign organized by the hospital to mark World No Tobacco Day, he said the purpose of the campaign is to highlight the link between use of tobacco products and cardiovascular diseases and to increase awareness among general public on harmful effects of exposure to smoke on cardiovascular health. Consultant Pulmonologist Dr Aftab Akhtar said that in Pakistan, smoking causes an estimated 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80 percent in women. “It claims lives of 100,000 people every year. Tobacco smoke contains 4000 chemicals out of which 250 are known to be harmful for humans and 70 of them cause cancers. More than 6, 00,000 nonsmokers are dying each year from smoke word wide and 1/3rd of them are children,” he said. He said that various cancers including acute myeloid leukemia, lung cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer, stomach cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the cervix, cancer of the esophagus, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx and uterus cancer are caused by direct smoking, secondhand smoking, chewing tobacco and using pan, gutka or sheesha. “Smokers face an increased risk of certain types of throat and stomach cancers, even years after they quit,” he remarked. Published in Daily Times, June 1st 2018.