"In the 20th century, tobacco killed 100 million people worldwide. During the 21st century, it could kill one billion," - the report says.
Smoking-related diseases killed 5.4 million people in 2005, or one person every six seconds.
According to the findings, made after processing data from 179 member states, the number of tobacco epidemic victims worldwide surpasses those killed by any infectious disease. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world, causing 1 in 10 deaths among adults globally. It is also legal in every country in the world except Bhutan.
The report's other major findings include the fact that only 5% of the global population are protected by comprehensive national anti-smoking legislation, while 40% of countries still allow smoking in public places, such as hospitals and schools.
The research revealed that not a single state signatory to the 2005 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has fully met its commitments, such as a ban on tobacco advertising, raising tobacco taxes and a ban on smoking in public places.
According to the report, middle-income countries raise 4,000 times more money from tobacco taxes than they spend on tobacco control, while in low-income countries the figure reaches 9,000. In high-income states the total of tobacco tax money collected is about 340 times higher than they spend on tackling smoking.
