(CBS) Six million. That's how many people will die this year as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke - and the number of tobacco-related deaths could soar to eight million by 2030. The World Health Organization made that projection on Monday - one day ahead of today's World No Tobacco Day, which is marked each year on May 31.
PICTURES: 55 gruesome tobacco warning labels
To save lives, the organization is pressing countries around the world to ramp up their antismoking efforts. It's asked them to sign on to its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires implementing tobacco taxes, banning tobacco advertising and sales to minors, and taking steps to protect citizens against second-hand smoke.
The FCTC also calls for placing large health warning labels on cigarette packages - and in this respect the U.S. and many other nations seem to be doing their part. Next month the FDA will finalize its new warning labels for cigarette package and ads, months after putting forth a set of 36 proposed labels - which shocked some for their blunt messages and graphic depictions of tobacco-related health dangers.
The World Lung Foundation says that, on average, smokers see images on tobacco packs 15 times a day, adding up to almost 5,500 times a year, Reuters reported. That makes pictures "a highly effective channel to inform smokers about the dangers of tobacco," the foundation said.
It seems young people, in particular, may need to be informed.
"Every day, nearly 3,500 kids under the age of 18 try a cigarette for the first time, and 850 of them become daily smokers," Dr. Howard K. Koh, assistant secretary of health for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, said in a written statement. "The suffering behind these statistics is unbearable and unacceptable."
Smoking causes lung cancer and emphysema and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world's #1 killer. Every day, more than 440,000 Americans die preventable deaths from tobacco-related diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the health effects of cigarette smoking.
