SKOPJE, May 31 (Xinhua) -- About 46 percent of the population aged 15 to 64 in Macedonia are smokers, a study performed by the Institute for Public Health (IPH) of Macedonia showed Wednesday, the World No Tobacco Day.
The practice is prevalent among men, 54 percent of whom smoke, as opposed to 33 percent of women, said the study.
The greatest smokers belong to the category of people aged 35-64 who comprise 52 percent of population.
Elena Kosevska, head of the IPH department for risk evaluation, said that in 2017, the campaign against smoking would focus on the damage tobacco causes to the overall economy.
She added that around 20,000 persons die in Macedonia each year as a result of the cardio-vascular diseases mainly caused by the consumption of tobacco and alcohol.
In this regard, she appealed for stronger fight against smoking, especially among the youth.
