[Graphic News] Smoking kills 7 million a year, wreaks environmental havoc: WHO

Smoking and other tobacco use kills more than 7 million people each year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, also warning of the dire environmental impact of tobacco production, distribution and waste.

The UN agency said tougher measures were needed to rein in tobacco use, urging countries to ban smoking in the workplace and indoor public spaces, outlaw marketing of tobacco products and hike cigarette prices.

In a report, WHO warned that the annual death toll of 7 million people had jumped from 4 million at the turn of the century, making tobacco the world‘s single biggest cause of preventable death. And the death toll is expected to keep rising, with WHO bracing for more than one billion deaths this century.