Tobacco use killed 100 mn in 20th century

An estimated 100 million lives were lost prematurely due to tobacco use in the last century and the number may be higher this century, a U.S. researcher says. Lead author Gary A. Giovino of the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions said the study focused on 14 low- and middle-income countries -- Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vietnam. The researchers made comparisons with the United States and the United Kingdom using data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. The nationally representative surveys were conducted from 2008 to 2010, through face-to-face interviews with 248,452 respondents. Data on another 188,895 respondents from the United States and United Kingdom were also included, according to a report of the United Press International (UPI).