China, India world's biggest smokers: study

China and India are the world's biggest tobacco users, according to new research which highlights concerns about increasing death rates in developing countries and smoking by women. Statistics compiled by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation for the third edition of their "Tobacco Atlas" found that some 311 million men in China and 229 million in India use tobacco in some form. For women the figures were 14 million and 12 million, respectively, putting the two Asian giants far ahead as the world's biggest smokers. There were 24 million female tobacco users in the United States, said the study, which was released in Mumbai at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health. Worldwide nearly one billion men and 250 million women use tobacco every day, said the study, released on Monday. Some six million people will die from tobacco use next year, rising to seven million by the end of next decade and eight million in 2030, it estimated.