Every year 4.5 million people die from smoking related to deaths. Of that staggering number nearly half of the deaths are in developing countries where medical care and health education are limited or non-existent. One of the fastest growing smoking populations is among teens in both rich and poor countries across the world. With the above statistics and the growing trend of younger smokers, the overall death toll for smokers could likely reach one billion before the end of the century.

Many governments are flummoxed by how exactly to handle this problem. Singapore, Australia and Thailand have implemented tougher anti-smoking campaigns and have found success in cutting the number of smokers within their borders. Other countries are hoping that drastic measures such as much higher taxes on cigarettes, a ban on public advertising and banning public smoking will help.

The concern for smoking related deaths has prompted representatives from nearly 150 countries to meet and discuss possible solutions to the problem. With so many minds mulling over the issues perhaps some solutions can be found.

By imposing a ban on smoking in all public arenas, Manchester, England is hoping to decrease smoking related deaths by five lives per day. Current anti-smoking research indicates that at least 14 people die each day in England from maladies associated with smoking. Currently smoking is the largest cause of health problems in Britain. It is estimated that approximately one third of regular smokers die from lung cancer, while many others succumb to heart disease and other health problems. With an estimated 30,000 people trying to kick the habit when the ban begins, researchers are predicting that eventually the smoking related deaths will decrease by one third. Dr Peter Elton, of Manchester's Stop Smoking campaign said, "This could be the most important piece of legislation that this government passes and in time it will be the one thing they are remembered for. As well as helping people to quit, people will no longer be able to justify passive smoking."

Following the trend of many cities and big companies, telephone giant British Telecom, is banning smoking in all of its buildings and vehicles. Legislation outlawing smoking in  bars and other English public domains does go into effect for another year, however the communication company decided to be proactive and begin the ban in March of this year. BT has a workforce of over 80,000 in England, of which approximately 20,000 are smokers. Former smoking rooms will be converted to storage areas or meeting rooms. In addition to the smoking ban, the company will be offering counseling to help its workers quit smoking all together. A spokesman for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: “It’s very good to see a big employer acting in advance of the new law. This will encourage other employers to do the same.”

It is getting harder and harder to find a peaceful place to light up these days. With many cities passing no smoking bans, the available ashtray is a rare sight. Washington D.C. is one of the most recent cities to pass a no smoking ordinance. One of the few locales within the city to escape the ban is Congress. Why is it that this will remain a haven for the puffing of cigarettes and cigars? It has long been known that Congress has been unwilling to bend with the trend of smoking bans. It is not uncommon to find various politicians inhaling between votes or during a quiet moment of newspaper reading. Some have wondered about conflicts of interest between Big Tobacco campaign contributions and the unwillingness of Congress to completely ban smoking. Other anti-smoking supporters are willing to give Congress their smoke filled refuge, "We recognize Congress does what it wants and has always done what it wants," said Angela Bradbery, a founder of Smokefree DC. "We don't have the capacity to do anything about it. And we're not going to try to get them to change their ways."