4,100 die from tobacco use in 2015 in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso’s health official said Wednesday that 4,100 people died in 2015 alone as result of tobacco use in the country.

Nicolas Meda, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Health, disclosed this citing a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day celebration on Wednesday in Ouagadougou.

He explained tobacco addiction is increasingly affecting youth people in the country, as 27.9 percent of school students aged between 13 and 15 years are tobacco users.

Meda lamented the early initiation of tobacco use observed at 11 years and said tobacco addiction remains a real public health problem in Burkina Faso.

He recalled 19.8 percent of the total population aged between 25 and 64 years are recorded as tobacco users in the West African country.

Documentation from WHO said tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world faces, killing more than 7 million people a year. Enditem

Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh

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