<p>In China, smoking accounts for about one million deaths per year. In South Korea, the total socio-economic cost of smoking in 2007 was estimated to have reached $6.1 billion.<br /><br />In a statement issued on World No Tobacco Day, senior WHO official Shin Young-soo said such laws are crucial given that smoking has put 900 million people in the region at risk for tobacco-related illness.<br /><br />"In our region, it is estimated that close to half of all men smoke and half of all women and children are regularly exposed to the deadly toxins of second-hand smoke at home and in public places," he said.<br /><br />Of the World Health Organisation's six regions, the Western Pacific Region has the biggest number of smokers. <br /><br />Shin said the socio-economic cost of tobacco use in the region is a "reason for alarm". </p>
<p>In China, smoking accounts for about one million deaths per year. In South Korea, the total socio-economic cost of smoking in 2007 was estimated to have reached $6.1 billion.<br /><br />In a statement issued on World No Tobacco Day, senior WHO official Shin Young-soo said such laws are crucial given that smoking has put 900 million people in the region at risk for tobacco-related illness.<br /><br />"In our region, it is estimated that close to half of all men smoke and half of all women and children are regularly exposed to the deadly toxins of second-hand smoke at home and in public places," he said.<br /><br />Of the World Health Organisation's six regions, the Western Pacific Region has the biggest number of smokers. <br /><br />Shin said the socio-economic cost of tobacco use in the region is a "reason for alarm". </p>