How does Africa fit in when it comes to global tobacco use?
Africa has relatively low tobacco use prevalence rates. But it has the fastest increasing prevalence rates. They’re low compared to China, where 60 percent of the men smoke, but they’re going up faster than anywhere in the world. We at the American Cancer Society are committed to doing tobacco control in Africa because here’s a chance to prevent an epidemic of disease that otherwise will happen. The tobacco industry is rapaciously promoting its product in all areas of the world where prevalence rates are low. So we’re targeting Africa and we need to get on the ground with prevention programs before it’s too late. It’s a lot easier to prevent people from starting ever to smoke than it is to get them to quit because it’s so addictive. Here’s an opportunity to get dramatic results and that is to prevent what has become the single largest cause of preventable death in the world: addiction to tobacco. Read more here.