Smoking related diseases to kill 200m Chinese this century-WHO


By Newsdesk with agency report

The World Health Organisation(WHO) has said on Friday that smoking-related diseases would claim 200 million lives in China this century and plunge tens of millions into poverty.

China is world’s largest consumer and producer of tobacco, and the industry provides government with colossal sums.

In 2015, it recorded 1.1 trillion yuan (Dh586 billion, $160 billion) in profits, up 20 per cent year-on-year.

But a report by WHO and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Friday that Asian giant would suffer an economic toll if it does not urgently reduce its smoking population.

The paper — called The Bill China Cannot Afford — estimated that the total annual economic cost of tobacco use in the country in 2014 was 350 billion yuan, up tenfold from 2000.

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