Tobacco is a major cause of ischaemic stroke in India

An Oxford University study revealed that over 1 in 10 deaths globally caused by Ischaemic Stroke (IS) due to tobacco happen in India.

Out of 187 countries, the number of people dying of stroke is third highest in India; China and Russia being first and second.

In 2010, 56,670 people died of IS in India or 11% of the total deaths, while the numbers in Russia were 62,110 or 12% of the global numbers, while in China it was 29% of the global figure – with 1,55,332 deaths.

According to the study, deaths from IS due to tobacco use in China, India and Russia together are higher than the total of other countries combined.

In 1990, China accounted for 26%, Russia for 10%, India for 7%, the US for 5% and Japan for 4% of the IS deaths caused by tobacco.

Surely, there has been an increase and that is a big concern.