80% of smokers live in poorer countries

epa04775056 Large anti-smoking banners hang on the exterior of the Birds Nest stadium as tourists walk by in Beijing, China, 30 May 2015. World No Tobacco Day is marked annually on 31 May, while Beijing prepares to implement a new smoking ban starting 01 June. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

IT IS tragic that a sizeable portion of our smokers are as young as 15. I should add that a good number of even younger ones are being enticed by that deadly habit.

Tobacco use is a threat to any person, family, society and nation, regardless of gender, age, race, cultural or educational background. It brings suffering, disease and death, impoverishes families and national economies.