Smoking causes 17% of annual deaths in Cuba: expert

 Smoking causes 17 percent of annual deaths in Cuba besides heavy economic losses to the state, according to a local expert here Thursday.

Alfredo Duenas, chief of Preventive Cardiology at the Institute of

Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, said that the "addiction takes away 10 years of remaining life of the smokers."

Duenas said that a third of the Cuban adult population smoke, "which is a hindrance to the development of the nation".

"The dire consequences of smoking, besides diminishing quality of life, have significant impact on health and economic costs to the individuals and to the country's budget, due to illness and the expense involved," he said.

He said that "85 percent of Cubans are exposed to cigarette smoke in public and private spaces."

Cigars and snuff production is one of Cuban main industries, but the

national anti-smoking campaigns are intense and smoking is banned in most of public places.

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