Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today, that is about 650 million people, will eventually be killed by tobacco.
Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating (破坏性的). In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving (剥夺) families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global net loss of 200 thousand million US dollars, a third of this loss being in developing countries.
Tobacco and poverty are closely linked. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households in some low-income countries as much as 10% of total household expenditure is on tobacco. This means that these families have less money to spend on basic items such as food, education and health care. It contributes to a higher illiteracy rate, since money that could have been used for education is spent on tobacco instead.

Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today, that is about 650 million people, will eventually be killed by tobacco.
烟草乃是世界上第二大人类杀手（直译为第二大死亡原因）。每十个成年人中就有一个是死于烟草
（烟草每年造成的死亡人数约在五百万）如果目前的吸烟情况继续下去的话，那么到2020烟草每年将到导致一千万人死亡。目前抽烟的一半人，也就是六亿五千万人，将最终死于烟草
Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating (破坏性的). In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving (剥夺) families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global net loss of 200 thousand million US dollars, a third of this loss being in developing countries.
烟草世上第四大致病因素。烟草带来的经济成本（或费用、损失）同样是巨大的（即所谓破坏性的）。除了治疗抽烟所致病毒的高额卫生费用外，烟草还导致壮劳力死亡，使家庭失去挣钱养家的人员，使国家失去健康劳动力。烟草使用者因疾病增加而降低了劳动力。据一份1994年的报告估计，烟草的使用每年导致全球二千亿美元的净损失，该损失的三分之一在发展中国家。
Tobacco and poverty are closely linked. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households in some low-income countries as much as 10% of total household expenditure is on tobacco. This means that these families have less money to spend on basic items such as food, education and health care. It contributes to a higher illiteracy rate, since money that could have been used for education is spent on tobacco instead.
烟草与贫穷紧密相连。许多研究表明，在一些低收入国家的最贫穷的家庭中，高达10%的家庭开支是花在烟草上了。这就意味着，他他们花费在诸如食品、教育、保健这些项目上的钱就更少了。这就导致了更高的文盲率，因为能用在教育上的钱被花在了烟草上。