HAVANA, Cuba, May 31 (ACN) On the occasion of today's celebration of World Smoke-Free Day, Cuban public health minister, Jose Angel Portal Miranda, called on Twitter to raise awareness about the harmful and lethal effects of this habit.
Portal Miranda recalled that smoking is a risk factor for many respiratory infections, and increases the severity of this type of diseases.
Regarding this date, the World Health Organization refers on its website that according to published evidence, smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19 than non-smokers.
Smoking is the leading preventable epidemic facing the health community, causing some eight million deaths each year.
The largest cause of death is lung cancer, and about 80 % of all deaths can be prevented by eliminating tobacco use.
In 1987, the World Health Assembly established World Smoke-Free Day to draw attention to the tobacco epidemic and its lethal effects.
Cuba commemorates this year's World Smoke-Free Day under the slogan "COVID-19: an opportunity to quit smoking", highlighting the importance of taking the first step in the process of giving up the addiction.
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