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- Our World in Data
- Smoking deaths comparison
Smoking deaths comparison
Our World in Data's bar chart drew 22.3K views on X: 0.8x its typical post and #103 of 139 Our World in Data charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
Smoking has already killed far more people this century than in the entire 20th century, Throughout the entire 20th century, about 100 million people died earlier than they would have because of smoking. That’s a lot, but it pales in compar
Why it spread
This post spread because it paired a stark, hot-topic comparison with strong quote activity, reaching 22,292 views, 206 likes, 70 reposts, 11 quotes, and 28 saves.
What worked
- The framing contrasts about 100 million deaths in the entire 20th century against the claim that this century has already exceeded that, which makes the bar chart feel urgent.
- The post is branded and includes a source line, which supports trust while the account is known for data journalism.
- The quote rate sits in the top quarter and the topic was hot that week, so people had a reason to discuss and share it.
What to borrow
We could use the same before-and-after century framing on our own data, showing a past total against a current or projected total with a clear source line.
Careful
Do not over-read the low design polish or the medium self-labelling as the cause, and do not assume the spread came from the chart alone rather than the hot topic and quote activity.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Our World in Data.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this bar chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "Smoking killed 100 million in the 20th century. This century, it has already killed far mo" by Our World in Data. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id a9ecd951c2f5.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/a9ecd951c2f5 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/a9ecd951c2f5/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/a9ecd951c2f5/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/a9ecd951c2f5/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Our World in Data
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Questions people ask
How far did Our World in Data's "Smoking deaths comparison" chart travel?
22,292 views, 206 likes, 70 reposts and 28 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @OurWorldInData gets about 28.6K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A bar chart. Smoking deaths in 21st century already exceed 20th century.
Can I use Our World in Data's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Our World in Data. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.