A real pain - Is smoking really such a pleasureable activity?

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), in the 21st century alone, tobacco is expected to kill 1 billion people globally whilst its consumption is on the rise in developing countries.

"Smoking has often been wrongly depicted as 'cool', 'fashionable', 'trendy' and in certian societies, it is part of the social norm," said Dr Zarihah Mohd Zain, a 16-year veteran epidemiologist who specialises in smoking-related issues. "Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Smoking resulted in nicotine dependance & causes fatal and disabling disease. Half of all long-term smokers will eventually be killed by tobacco, and of these, half will die during productive middle age, losing 20 to 25 years of life.

Smoking is one of the key risk factors of many chronic diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases & diabetes) which are major cause of death worldwide. The global prevalence of all the leading chronic diseases is increasing, with the majority occurring in developing countries and projected to increase substantially over the next two decades.