Is This What's Going To Kill One-Third Of China's Young Men?

A new study has revealed a startling prediction, one in three young Chinese men will die from smoking. 

Time has just reported that with the current smoking rates in China, a new study published in The Lanced medical journal found that a third of all young men from the Asian state will die from tobacco-related causes.

"Without rapid, committed, and widespread action to reduce smoking levels, China will face enormous numbers of premature deaths," quoted the publication of Liming Li, a professor at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, reports Reuters (via Time). In an effort to respond to the deadly trend, the Chinese government has been aggressively pursing policies that seek to curb the incidence of smoking in urban areas. 

The study done by scientists from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control reveals that as it stands, most men take up the habit before reaching 20 years of age and as a result, about 50 percent of the adult male population will die from the habit. It's estimated that Tobacco-related deaths will double to two million by the year 2030 and three million by 2050, revealed the research. 

The research was comprised of a two-part study, the first being done in the 1990s and involved 250,000 men; the second is still ongoing and involves 500,000 from both sexes. 

Presently, China now consumes a third of the world's cigarettes. In addition to banning smoking in public places, high sin taxes have been put in place. Hindustan Times reports that the number of smokers has reached the 300 million mark, which is larger than the US population by the end of 2014. 

Beijing is estimated to have about 4.20 million smokers who smoke an average of 15 cigarette sticks each day. 

As a caution, Li elaborated, "Without rapid, committed, and widespread action to reduce smoking levels, China will face enormous numbers of premature deaths," The study reports that "The proportion of all male deaths at ages 40-79 that are attributed to smoking has doubled, from about 10% in the early 1990s, to about 20 percent now. In urban areas this proportion is higher, at 25% and is still rising."

Given the daily consumption of cigarettes, tobacco remains an important and high source of revenue for the Chinese government. 

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