About 6,000 people die of tobacco use diseases in Kyrgyzstan annually

According to the World Health Organization, up to 6,000 people above 30 annually die in Kyrgyzstan of diseases, caused by tobacco use. The press center of the Health Care Ministry reports.

According to it, 96 percent of these deaths are accounted for noncommunicable diseases. "Despite the state anti-tobacco policy, mortality from major non-communicable diseases is not decreasing. It means that there is an urgent need to tighten the control over risk factors. For the prevention and control of tobacco use on March 2, 2006 the Kyrgyz Republic ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), and on August 21, 2006 the country adopted the law on protection of citizens' health from the harmful effects of tobacco. To enforce them, the government in April of 2008 approved the State Program for 2008-2015 and the short-term plan of action for its implementation," the ministry reported.

"The Ministry of Health has developed a draft decree of the Kyrgyz government and the plan and submits the documents for discussion at the inter-sectoral level," the press center noted.