Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 7 / Trend M.Aliyev /
Azerbaijani state agencies will discuss in parliament the issue of restricting smoking tobacco.
Parliamentary committees and ministry representatives will hold a meeting in late February to discuss the issue, Parliamentary Social Policy Committee Deputy Chairman Musa Guliyev told Trend.
Guliyev said the meeting will establish a working group for monitoring a bill on restricting tobacco production.
"The meeting will also be attended by NGOs, as they must monitor the situation with smoking in the country," Guliyev said.
Such monitoring was carried out several years ago, he said.
In 2005, Azerbaijan joined the Convention to Restrict Tobacco Production.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking kills 5.4 million people each year. It is expected that by 2030 this figure will increase to 8 million or more. It is estimated that 100 million people died in the 20th century due to illnesses caused by tobacco. It is projected that victims of cigarettes may be 1 billion people in the 21st century.