Smoking is a major cause of death in Morocco, with a high rate of tobacco-associated cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, said Noureddine Chaouki, head of the department of non-transmissible diseases at the health ministry. 
Dr. Chaouki told MAP that 34% of Moroccan men and 1% of Moroccan women aged over 20 are smokers.
Morocco developed a tobacco control strategy, embodied in a law that was enforced in February 1998 and that prohibits smoking in public sites as well as tobacco advertisement.
In 2004, 14.5 billion cigarettes were sold in Morocco.
© 2005 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
