55% of males over 15 and 27% of general population smoke in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net -
55 per cent of males over 15 and 27 per cent of general population smoke in Armenia, the consumption of tobacco remaining high in the country, RA Deputy Minister of Health Tatul Hakobyan said.



According to him, 28 per cent of population smoke in Georgia, 18 per cent in Azerbaijan, 33 per cent in Turkey, 27 per cent in the EU countries and 32 per cent in the CIS.



“Propaganda is an inefficient method. The most effective way to combat smoking is to hike the prices for tobacco products," Tatul Hakobyan told a press conference on February 5.



“The high level of tobacco consumption entails cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer,” he said. “The level of alcohol consumption in Armenia is rather low. In our country, a person annually consumes 1.4 liters of alcoholic drinks. The figure is similar in Georgia and Turkey, while 4.3 liters of alcohol is consumed by a person on average in Azerbaijan. In the EU countries, this figure is much higher and reaches 11.4 liters."