One in five people in Berlin: Smoking costs men their lives!

One in five people in Berlin: Smoking costs men their lives!

In Berlin there are alarming figures on the health consequences of smoking. Almost one in five deaths among men – around 18 percent – ​​is related to tobacco consumption. For women, it is still one in eight deaths, which accounts for around 13 percent. Berlin ranks second nationwide for smoking-related deaths, just behind Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the proportion of men is 19 percent. There is also a striking difference between the sexes in Brandenburg: Here, around 17 percent of deaths in men and around 9 percent in women can be attributed to smoking, according to the report by Uckermark Kurier.

A total of 131,000 people in Germany died from the health consequences of smoking in 2023. That corresponds to around one in seven deaths in the country. What's particularly frightening is that cancer accounts for the largest proportion of smoking-related deaths, accounting for 42 percent. Cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases also play a crucial role, with about a third and a quarter of deaths attributed to these diseases, respectively.

The smoking trend in Germany

The numbers are not exactly encouraging. More than one in four adults in Germany use the glow stick, with the proportion of men in all age groups being higher than that of women. The current situation shows how important preventive measures are. In its new tobacco atlas, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) emphasizes that smoking is the most important preventable cancer risk factor. In 2018, there were already around 85,000 cases of cancer caused by smoking and around 127,000 deaths, which accounted for 13.3 percent of all deaths. [DKFZ].

The challenges in tobacco prevention are also addressed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Many European countries need more effective tobacco control policies, according to a report. Dr. WHO's Gauden Galea says tobacco use is a leading cause of death from noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disease. In the European Region, approximately 179 million adults and 4 million young people between the ages of 13 and 15 are tobacco users. Tragic: 18 percent of all deaths from noncommunicable diseases are due to tobacco consumption. The WHO has developed the MPOWER concept, which includes measures such as helping people quit smoking and increasing tobacco taxes. One goal in tobacco prevention is to reduce tobacco consumption by 30 percent by 2025, but only eleven countries are on track to achieve this goal WHO must determine.

It remains to be seen how the situation will develop further. The results clearly show that there is a huge need for action both in the area of ​​public health strategies and in the individual pain management of smokers. Prevention and education must be increased in order to achieve the goal of a smoke-free Germany by 2040.