More than half a million people who are alive in Northern Ireland today will die prematurely from smoking, a government report has said.

The Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland's annual report highlights worrying statistics on cancer deaths, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity and the differences in health between people living in affluent and deprived areas.

On smoking and cancer, the report says although 900,000 people will continue to die each year from smoking related cancers each year in Northern Ireland, three in ten people in Northern Ireland still smoke tobacco.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Etta Campbell, estimates that 560,000 people who are currently alive will die because of tobacco use and reports that every day two people in Northern Ireland die from lung cancer alone.

More women smoking

While death rates are falling for men, they are rising in women due to changing patterns in tobacco use, the report found.

She says: "Even if everyone were to stop smoking now, the effect of past smoking would still be seen for up to 30 years from now."

The report was welcomed by Assembly Health Committee chairman, Dr Joe Hendron, who described the increase in smoking among young women as "alarming".

"There are many factors which affect our health including economic prosperity, education and the standard of housing," he said.

"We must tackle these if we are to catch up with the rest of Europe."

The Chief Medical Officer also highlighted that although lung cancer is treatable if diagnosed early, advances in treatment and detection were bringing benefits to Northern Ireland.

It says: "Over recent years there has been only a small improvement in survival for patients diagnosed with lung cancer. However, lung cancer is almost completely preventable and treatable if diagnosed early enough."

The report conclude that two thirds of all cancer deaths in Northern Ireland can be attributed to just two factors - tobacco use and poor diet.

The report also predicts that in five years time nearly one in three women and more than one in five men will be clinically obese.

Rich-poor disparity

Poor diet is one of the factors highlighted in relation to the disparity in health statistic between the rich and poor.

People living in affluent areas were found to live on average seven years longer that people in more deprived districts, the report found.

And the Chief Medical Officer found the gap between the rich and poor has actually widened in recent years.

The report estimated that if a group of 100 Northern Ireland children were to have the same health experience as today's population their destiny will be that:

Thirty will die from heart disease, 40 will develop cancer, 30 will die from cancer, 8 females will develop breast cancer, 16 will suffer depression at some times in their lives, 40 girls and 25 boys will be regular smokers by the age of 16, at least 14 will have been drunk 10 times by the age of 16 and 3 will be regular drug users (using drugs 2-3 times and month by 16.

The report said that people in Northern Ireland are healthier overall, but that "compared to other European countries our health could be much improved and within Northern Ireland there are significant inequalities in health".

It added: "Comparisons between Northern Ireland and western European countries indicate that in Northern Ireland there is much room for improvement.

"In Sweden the life expectancy of males at birth is three years more than for Northern Ireland males and in France women can expect to live almost five years longer than women born here."

"Northern Ireland death from heart disease have been falling since the early 1980s, the death rate in many other countries in Europe is dramatically lower."

"If these inequalities could be addressed approximately 2,000 lives could be saved each year and almost 40 premature deaths could be prevented every day."