Smoking-attributable mortality--Mexico, 1992.

Cigarette smoking causes neoplastic, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases that contribute substantially to disability, death, and medical-care expenditures (1). In the United States, cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death (1). Although the prevalence of cigarette smoking in Mexico (26% in 1993 [2]) is similar to that in the United States, smoking-attributable mortality has not been recently estimated for Mexico or most other developing countries that are experiencing increases in chronic diseases. To assist in the development of programs for preventing tobacco use, the Ministry of Health of Mexico used a modified version of the software program Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) to estimate smoking-related mortality (3). This report summarizes trends in the occurrence of smoking-related diseases in Mexico and estimates smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost before age 65 years (YPLL-65) in 1992.