With falling sales, lawsuits and stringent measures in developed countries, tobacco companies have shifted their focus to developing countries. In 1998, tobacco firms spent US $10 billion in advertising outside the US. Today, 80 per cent of the world's smokers live in developing countries. By 2020, one out of three adult deaths worldwide will result from smoking -- more than deaths from malaria, tuberculosis and maternal and childhood illnesses put together. While the developed world is taking steps to curb smoking (European Union will ban all cigarette advertising from 2006), most developing countries are yet to evolve a strategy.
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