December 10, 2008 Cancer likely to be #1 killer by 2030 Play video

(NECN: Latoyia Edwards) - In this healthcheck: why heart disease may no longer be the top killer in the world in a few years. Plus, there are new concerns for children who use asthma inhalers.

Heart disease currently claims the largest number of lives each year worldwide, but with 40% of people smoking now in places like India and China, a new deadly illness is threatening to steal the top spot.

Rising tobacco use in developing countries will likely make cancer the number one killer of people around the globe by 2010. The World Health Organization says cancer deaths are expected to reach seven million this year, and mushroom to 17 million by 2030.

International health care systems are worried they will not be able to handle the projected 75 million people worldwide living with cancer within the next two decades.

Children with serious asthma symptoms may not benefit from some popular medications used to treat the condition. A recent review found inhalers, like Advair, Serevent, Foradil and Symbicort, do improve lung function for children, but had provided no change in improving a child's risk for severe asthma attacks.

A new government study focused in West Virginia says a majority of people who die from unintentional drug overdoses got the drugs illegally. This type of death is on the rise in the U.S.

Does money motivate people to lose weight? Doctors from the University of Pennsylvania say yes. People paid to lose weight lose