Mortality rate in Bulgaria will jump by 10 percent in five years, should the percentage of smokers remain unchanged, forecasts of the World Health Organization show. Data of the National Statistical Institute show that 14.3 in every 1000 Bulgarians die every year. Smoking is the reason for the death in every sixth Bulgarian.

49 percent of the smokers in Bulgaria are men and 51 percent are women, which is tow times more than the average for the EU member states.

The Bulgarian doctors top the smokers' world ranking - over 60 percent of them are regular smokers. In the United States the figure is no more than 3.3 percent, in the United Kingdom - 2.4 percent and Japan - 27 percent.