From the BBC news

[teleostomi]

It's probably about 600 deaths through lung cancer are caused through passive smoking now.

Is this sentence correct? It's an oral statement from the BBC news.

[Mister Micawber]

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He said or should have said probable instead of probably. I suspect that the transcription is inaccurate, because the last part of your sentence is also odd-- what could now refer to?
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[teleostomi]

Yes, there could be some transcriptive errors, because it was done by Japanese. But I don't understand why "now" in the sentence seems odd. I have to get back to the CD book to make it more contexturized. Unfortunately, I returned it to the library:o Anyways thanks as always, Mic!

[Mister Micawber]

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Odd because now would mean at this moment; if the writer wished to make a dramatic point, s/he would use continuous, not the 'timeless' present simple:

about 600 deaths through lung cancer are being caused through passive smoking right now.

But I think the writer's intention is more likely:

about 600 deaths through lung cancer are caused through passive smoking every day.
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[teleostomi]

If my understanding of your point is right, "now" can't be used to describe habitual actions or events. Is that really so? Wow. I've often used "now" in the equal meaning as "nowadays."

[Mister Micawber]

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Is that really so? No, of course not-- but it certainly does not work here.
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[teleostomi]

Thanks, Mr Mic, I borrowed that book again. Now I'm citing the part, this time it's longer:


It's probably about 600 deaths through lung cancer ___ caused through passive smoking now, and there's only 12,000 deathes that are actually caused through other diseases really, so it does have a really big impact on people's health.


Is it wrong to say "are" instead of "are being"?

[Mister Micawber]

It's probably about 600 deaths through lung cancer ___ caused through passive smoking now, and there's only 12,000 deathes that are actually caused through other diseases really, so it does have a really big impact on people's health.
Well, there certainly are some errors in there:

Probable, not probably
there are...that are, not there's...that are
deaths, not deathes
Too many 'through's
actually; really; really-- two are redundant, and using three is just plain sloppy.

Yes, are with now does not work here; in fact, now doesn't work-- when is this 'now', that 12,000 deaths occur? Even are being seems awkward in this awkward passage; it is not well written. I don't think it is worth analyzing this any more.
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[teleostomi]

adverb: in the immediate past (Example: "Told me just now")
adverb: in these times (Example: "It is solely by their language that the upper classes nowadays are distinguished- Nancy Mitford")

I had thought "now" in the quotation would correspond to either of the two above definitions. Could we replace "nowadays" with "now" in the second sentence?