15% of family budget go up in smoke

Russian smokers “smoke away” 15 % of their family budget.

This is the exact amount that gets spent on cigarettes and other tobacco products, declared head of Smoking Prevention Center Tatyana Tkachenko.

“This year's Day Without Tobacco celebrated under the initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) carries the following slogan: “Tobacco and Poverty: the exclusive circle,” stated she. “Statistically, nearly 300 000 Russians die from smoking-related illnesses,” said Tkachenko.

“Smoking leads to 25 serious illnesses, the most serious of which is lung cancer. 90% of men and 75% of women get cancerous growths as a result of smoking,” noted the doctor. “More so, smoking results in numerous chronic illnesses and heart-related illnesses, larynx cancer and gullet cancer to name a few.”

Adolescents worry doctors the most. According to the State scientific-research center of preventive medicine of the Russia's Ministry of Health, “up to 46% of schoolboys and 40% of schoolgirls in Russian high schools smoke.” “The number is growing at a rapid speed,” notes Tkachenko.

Survey conducted by the WHO indicates that “70% of smokers would like to quit smoking but are unable to do so alone,” reports ITAR-TASS.