Cigarettes: The Deadliest Invention in History
Tobacco caused approximately 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone, and up to 1 billion deaths are expected to occur in the 21st century if current trends continue. Tobacco currently causes approximately 8 million premature deaths each year, more than deaths from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
The lethality of cigarettes is not just a matter of numbers. Tobacco causes 90% (in men) and 80% (in women) of lung cancer and is a major cause of various diseases including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic respiratory disease. Half of smokers die prematurely from cigarettes, shortening their average life expectancy by 8 to 15 years.
compared to weapons
Even compared to weapons of war, the death toll from cigarettes is overwhelming. Artillery, the deadliest weapon in history, is estimated to have caused approximately 196 million deaths, while firearms accounted for approximately 141 million deaths. Considering that the total number of deaths in World War II was 70-85 million, and in World War I 15-22 million, the lethality of cigarettes, which killed 100 million people in the 20th century alone, is the worst for a single invention.
Despite the destructive power of nuclear weapons, the actual death toll in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is only about 200,000. Tobacco, on the other hand, continues to kill millions of people every year, and no other invention can match its cumulative death toll.
Other Fatal Inventions/Discoveries
Alcohol currently causes approximately 2.6 million deaths each year, but its historical cumulative death toll is less than that of tobacco. Cars are responsible for approximately 4 million deaths from 1913 to 2023 in the United States alone, and approximately 1.3 million people die annually in traffic accidents worldwide.
Among infectious diseases, **smallpox** caused 250 to 500 million deaths in the 20th century alone, but was completely eradicated in 1980. Malaria killed 150 to 300 million people in the 20th century, and some estimate that it killed 50 to 60 billion people (half of all mankind) throughout history, but this figure is unverified.
The invention of agriculture also had a negative impact. The transition to an agricultural society resulted in malnutrition, increased infectious diseases, decreased height, and poor oral health, with some scholars calling it “the worst mistake in human history.”
Considering the cumulative number of deaths, the persistence, and the harm that continues to this day, cigarettes are the single invention that has harmed the most people ever. The 100 million deaths in the 20th century, and the expected 1 billion deaths in the 21st century, are more than the deaths caused by weapons of war, nuclear weapons, and traffic accidents combined.