We are going to talk about the damage caused by smoking, and the effects on the individual and the public.

　　The medical experts in Great Britain warned that the threat of smoking to human health is getting greater and greater. The number of smokers in India and China is increasing at an alarming rate, so unless we step up the anti-tobacco efforts, the number of smoking-related death will escalate to 1 billion people by the end of the 21st century, which is about one sixth of the world's population today. That number will be up from the current 100 million death.

　　Dr. Richard Peto of Oxford University pointed on during the NCRI Cancer Conference being held in Birmingham, G. B., that the effects of smoking on human health can't be underestimated. Every year about 5 million adults die from smoking-related diseases around the world, while 30 million people become smokers. If we do not take these statistics seriously, the death toll will keep increasing.

　　Smoking has become a global issue. The following statistics could provide a reference for the smokers considering quitting:

　　The damages of smoking are multi-faceted. Smoking not only does harm to the smoker, it would do harm to the people around the smoker as well. In addition, smoking causes air and environmental pollutions, increased burden on the health insurance due to the smoking-related diseases, increased burden on the nation's finance, leading to a multitude of economic and social problems. Smoking causes a vicious cycle involving increased medical expenditure and wasted social resources. If this problem is not solved, smoking will become the cancer of this century.

　　The tobacco companies exploit the child and adult labors in the third world countries to plant tobacco instead of food crops, changing the agricultural system of that nation, causing a shortage of food. These tobacco companies also financially support the politicians in these nations so they may exert their influence on the legislative and executive processes. They spoil the efforts to enact anti-smoking laws and even target new smoking groups, making the international anti-tobacco efforts more urgent.

　　According to the director of John Tung Foundation Tobacco Prevention Group Ms. Lin Ching-li, there are about 4.5 million smokers in Taiwan, but this number may go up in the near future due to the ever increasing number of adolescent and female smokers. She hopes that the government could stop the growth of the smokers by enacting tough laws, and she recommends everyone to stop smoking, and be courageous in stopping the second-hand smoke.