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Deaths from ischemic stroke due to tobacco consumption in China, India, and Russia together are higher than total for all world's other countries combined, according to a new research. 

The research was focused on the results relating to IS in the global burden of disease  (GBD) study published two years ago. It also provided additional analysis on the effects of tobacco consumption. 

"Tobacco control policies that target both smoking initiation and smoking cessation can play an important role in the prevention of IS. In China, Russia, and India, even modest reductions in the number of current smokers could see millions of lives saved due to prevention of IS alone," said Dr Derrick Bennett, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK in the press release. 

The report noted that of all the deaths from IS due to tobacco consumption in 187 countries included in the GBD 2010 study, in 1990, China accounted for 26%, Russia for 10%, India for 7%, the United States for 5%, and Japan for 4%. In 2010, the countries with the most IS deaths attributable to tobacco were China (29%, 155,332 deaths), Russia (12%, 62 110 deaths), India (11%, 56 670 deaths). On the other hand, all other countries saw 48.5% of all IS deaths due to smoking. 

"Worryingly, the estimated IS deaths attributable to tobacco consumption in China, Russia, and India had increased in the 20-year period. Even though the United States and Japan had improved between 1990 and 2010, they were still ranked sixth and fifth in 2010, with 2.6% and 3.4% of all IS deaths attributable to tobacco consumption," Bennett added.

"Meaningful implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a top priority not only for reducing IS burden but also the burden from other chronic non-communicable diseases."

The research has been published in the journal Global Heart.