The third edition of The Tobacco Atlas was unveiled at the LiveSTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday this week.
The atlas, published by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation, displays how tobacco impacts global health and economies and tracks the progress and outcomes of tobacco control.
Tobacco use will kill nearly 6 million people next year from cancer, heart disease, emphysema and a range of other ills, global cancer experts said in the report, and estimated costs to the global economy of $500 billion a year in direct medical expenses, lost productivity and environmental harm.
Tobacco accounts for one out of every 10 deaths worldwide and will claim 5.5 million lives this year alone, the report said.
If current trends hold, by 2020, the number will grow to an estimated 7 million and top 8 million by 2030.