Bulgarians, at a pack a day, third among Europeans in smoking stakes
With Greeks in first place and Italians in second, Bulgarians are in third place - at a pack a day - among smokers in Europe, according to a European Commission initiative entitled Help - for a life without tobacco.
Figures for 2008 say that almost every third person between 10 and 19 smokes, as do half the pregnant women in Bulgaria.
Men make up 52.4 per cent of the just less than two million smokers in Bulgaria, a country with a population estimated at 7.7 million
Smoking is said to be the cause of about 20 per cent of deaths in Bulgaria.
The anti-smoking campaign was launched in 2007 and will continue over the next two years, focussing in particular on discouraging smoking among young people.
On March 5 2009, Bulgarian-language mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa said that excise hikes that are leading to cigarette price increases could see cigarette consumption in Bulgaria decrease by about 15 per cent.
Figures for 2008 say that almost every third person between 10 and 19 smokes, as do half the pregnant women in Bulgaria.
Men make up 52.4 per cent of the just less than two million smokers in Bulgaria, a country with a population estimated at 7.7 million
Smoking is said to be the cause of about 20 per cent of deaths in Bulgaria.
The anti-smoking campaign was launched in 2007 and will continue over the next two years, focussing in particular on discouraging smoking among young people.
On March 5 2009, Bulgarian-language mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa said that excise hikes that are leading to cigarette price increases could see cigarette consumption in Bulgaria decrease by about 15 per cent.