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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

National Day of the Fight Against Smoking observed

Belgrade, 31 January 2006

Serbian Assistant Minister of Health Snezana Simic said today on the occasion of the National Day of the Fight Against Smoking, that half of the adult population of Serbia smokes, and added that it is a worrying fact that Serbia takes the top spot in Europe when it comes to the number of females who smoke.

Simic, who is also president of the National Commission for Prevention of Smoking said that during this year a number of activities will be organised with the aim of reducing fatality and disease in the population caused by smoking. She also said that tobacco with 4,000 cancerogenic substances is one of the major sources of malignant disease.

She said that in the second half of this year research will be conducted concerning the health status of the population of Serbia where risk factors in smoking will be particularly investigated, and the possible changes that have occurred since the last similar research was conducted in 2000.

According to research from 2000, every second man and every third woman is a smoker, Simic said and added that Serbia is second or third in Europe regarding the frequency of smoking.

She said that it is also a worrying statistic that 95% of the adolescent population lives in families where at least one parent is a smoker making them “passive smokers”.

Simic also said that in the research of 2000 it was also observed that 17% of students in the eighth or last grade of primary school and first and second graders of secondary school smoke everyday.

According to Simic, the experience of other countries shows that 10 to 15 years are required to reduce the frequency of diseases caused by smoking and according to the national strategy 2015 is the year when first results can be expected to be seen in Serbia.

Simic recalled that there are 40 counselling centres in Serbia that provide help in giving up smoking and expressed expectation that stronger penalties for smoking in closed spaces will lead to reduction in the number of smokers.