The west is winning the war on tobacco but the death toll from smoking-related illnesses is still rising as poorer nations take up the habit. Now two very wealthy men are taking action.
Prompted by the prediction that smoking will claim 10 million deaths a year by 2025, double the current toll, last week Bill Gates teamed up with Michael Bloomberg, the multibillionaire mayor of New York City, to pledge $375 million towards anti-smoking programmes in developing nations. The money will build on Bloomberg’s $125 million Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, which he established in 2005.
The initiative will…
