Abstract:
Tobacco use is the largest single preventable cause of death, disease and devastating social, economic and
environmental effect in the world. Tobacco contains about 50 to 250 harmful constituents which are
addictive, carcinogenic, respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive toxicants. Tobacco use is estimated
to cause about 71% of lung cancer, 42% of chronic respiratory disease and nearly 10% of cardiovascular
disease. Currently, it is expected that 1.3 billion people are using tobacco worldwide. Tobacco is also
responsible for 7 million premature deaths annually, both from direct tobacco use and second-hand
smoking. If the current trend is not curbed, by 2030, this number will increase to 10 million, accounting
for 10% of all deaths. Majority of these deaths will occur in low and middle-income countries including
Ethiopia. It is evidenced that for every one death due to tobacco, about 20 tobacco users and secondhand
smokers suffer from chronic diseases related to tobacco annually
