Smoking-attributable deaths in Spain in 1998

BACKGROUND: Between 1993 and 1997, smoking prevalence remained stable in Spain yet age-adjusted death rates by smoking-related diseases decreased. Our study aimed to estimate the burden of smoking-attributable mortality in Spain in 1998. POPULATION AND METHOD: Spain's smoking prevalence, mortality and relative risks for death from the Cancer Prevention Study II were used to estimate smoking-attributable mortality in the population aged 35 years and over. RESULTS: In 1998, 55,613 deaths were attributable to smoking. One out of 4 deaths in males and one out of 40 deaths in females were attributable to tobacco. Two thirds of the attributable mortality corresponded to deaths due to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease and stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking actually represents a remarkable burden of avoidable deaths in Spain. Smoking-attributable mortality appears to continue increasing in the last years.