• This chapter presents an overview of smoking, its global importance, and key mortality and morbidity data.

• There are 1.3 billion smokers worldwide consuming over 5 trillion cigarettes annually.

• Smoking caused an estimated 100 million deaths in the 20th century.

• The death toll is rising with 3 million deaths predicted this year from smoking and a billion deaths expected in the 21st century.

• By 2020, all of the top 5 causes of death will be smoking-related.