Baku, Azerbaijan, January 16
Trend:
Young people in Baku smoke both cigarettes and hookah a lot, said the head of Azerbaijan office of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hande Harmanci, Trend reports.
According to Harmanci, smoking a hookah is equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes.
“Smoking remains a serious problem worldwide. Unfortunately, there are enough smokers in Azerbaijan," she added.
She went on to add that about 1.3 million people use tobacco in Azerbaijan, half of which are at risk to not live until 70 years old.
“Therefore, the struggle to curb this addiction is vital, and the most important step is to increase the price of tobacco products because cigarettes are very cheap in Azerbaijan. This could prevent youth from smoking, to a certain extent,” Harmanci said.
Head of the office also added that it is necessary to reduce the advertising of tobacco products. Harmanci welcomed the anti-tobacco law that passed last year in Azerbaijan.
She believes that if you do not take measures to combat smoking the number of smokers will continue to grow.