Number of smoking diseases rises by 30 percent in Germany

BERLIN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Federal Statistics Office reported on Wednesday that the number of diseases related to smoking has increased by 30 percent in Germany.

About 450,000 patients suffering from smoker's lung or lung cancer were hospitalized in 2015, a 30 percent increase from 10 years ago. More than 45,000 subsequently died from lung cancer, which is now considered the fourth most frequent cause of death in Germany. 31,000 people also died from smoker's cough, which is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

But the number of smokers in Germany is falling year on year. In 2007, 251 million taxed cigarettes were bought, in comparison to only 205 million in 2017. However, pipes and especially shisha pipes are on the rise and between 2007 and 2017, the consumption of pipe tobacco rose from four to seven tonnes.

The Federal Statistics Office also added that tobacco consumption is in fact a lot higher than the results, because the statistics only include taxed tobacco and do not cover the black market.