ILL EFFECTS OF TOBACCO

KEY FACTS

• Tobacco kills up to half of its users.
• The annual death toll of more than five million could rise to more than eight million by 2030 unless urgent action is taken to control the tobacco epidemic.
• More than 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.
• Total consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in some high-income and upper middle-income countries.

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DIABETES

Key facts

• More than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes.
• In 2004, an estimated 3.4 million people died from consequences of high blood sugar.
• More than 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• WHO projects that diabetes deaths will double between 2005 and 2030.
• Healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

DEAFNESS AND HEARING DEFECTS

Key facts

• In 2005, about 278 million people had moderate to profound hearing impairment. 80% of them live in low-and middle-income countries.
• Infectious diseases such as meningitis, measles, mumps and chronic ear infections can lead to hearing impairment. Other common causes include exposure to excessive noise, head and ear injury, ageing and the use of ototoxic drugs.
• Half of all cases of deafness and hearing impairment are avoidable through prevention, early diagnoses and management.
• Current production of hearing aids meets less than 10% of global need. In developing countries, fewer than 1 out of 40 people who need a hearing aid have one.

AIR QUALITY AND HUMAN HEALTH

Key facts

• Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health and is estimated to cause approximately 2 million premature deaths worldwide per year.
• Exposure to air pollutants is largely beyond the control of individuals and requires action by public authorities at the national, regional and even international levels.
• The WHO Air quality guidelines represent the most widely agreed and up-to-date assessment of health effects of air pollution, recommending targets for air quality at which the health risks are significantly reduced.
• By reducing particulate matter (PM₁₀) pollution from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre, we can cut air quality related deaths by around 15%.
• By reducing air pollution levels, we can help countries reduce the global burden of disease from respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer.
• The WHO guidelines provide interim targets for countries that still have very high levels of air pollution to encourage the gradual cutting down of emissions. These interim targets are: a maximum of three days a year with up to 150 micrograms of PM₁₀ per cubic metre (for short term peaks of air pollution), and 70 micrograms per cubic metre for long term exposures to PM₁₀.
• More than half of the burden from air pollution on human health is borne by people in developing countries. In many cities, the average annual levels of PM₁₀(the main source of which is the burning of fossil fuels) exceed 70 micrograms per cubic metre. The guidelines say that, to prevent ill health, those levels should be lower than 20 micrograms per cubic metre.

CANCER IN THE WORLD

Key Facts

• Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide: it accounted for 7.4 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2004.
• Lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast cancer cause the most cancer deaths each year.
• The most frequent types of cancer differ between men and women.
• More than 30% of cancer deaths can be prevented.¹
• Tobacco use is the single most important risk factor for cancer.
• Cancer arises from a change in one single cell. The change may be started by external agents and inherited genetic factors.
• Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 12 million deaths in 2030.

BLINDNESS IN THE WORLD

KEY FACTS

• About 314 million people are visually impaired worldwide, 45 million of them are blind.
• Most people with visual impairment are older, and females are more at risk at every age, in every part of the world.
• About 87% of the world's visually impaired live in developing countries.
• The number of people blinded by infectious diseases has been greatly reduced, but age-related impairment is increasing.
• Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness globally, except in the most developed countries.
• Correction of refractive errors could give normal vision to more than 12 million children (ages five to 15).
• About 85% of all visual impairment is avoidable globally.

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AESBESTOS TOXICITY

Currently, about 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace. According to the most recent WHO estimates, more than 107 000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis resulting from exposure at work. One in every three deaths from occupational cancer is estimated to be caused by asbestos. In addition, it is estimated that several thousand deaths annually can be attributed to exposure to asbestos in the home.

U.S. AID TO EGYPT

Since 1979, Egypt has been the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, receiving an average of nearly $2 billion a year in economic and military assistance, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Obama administration sought more than $1.5 billion in aid for Egypt in fiscal 2011

Fact About U.S. Economy

U.S. economy grew at the rate of 35 % from 1947 to 2000. Thereafter it slowed down to 1.8 % from 2001 to 2010.

MILLIONAIRES IN CHINA-Women

• The number of Chinese millionaires grew 6.1 per cent last year .
• At present there are 875,000 millionaires in China.
• 11 of the world’s 20 richest self-made women are Chinese.
• Cheung Yan,( Shown in photo) founder and chairwoman of Nine Dragons Paper Holdings, is number one with an estimated fortune of $5.6 billion.
• One-third of Chinese millionaires are women.