Statistics show that the number of smoking women is growing. Ion Salaru, senior deputy director of the National Center for Public Health, says that tobacco companies are to blame for targeting this segment of consumers and inventing various flavored cigarettes to attract women, especially the young ones, Info-Prim Neo reports. Country-wide, 7.1% of women are smokers, but there are large differences between cities and villages. In urban areas, the percentage rises to 13.2% and it drops to 3.4% in rural zones. The statistics date back to 2005, the last available official data. By the end of 2012, the National Center for Public Health will publish a new study, approved by the World Health Organization. “The number of smoking women is growing and this will have a negative impact on the future generation, considering that many of these women are future mothers. The most active smokers are aged 20-35, women with higher education and higher income. The percentage of smoking teenage girls is 5.6%, a percentage similar to men”, Ion Salaru told Info-Prim Neo. According to CNSP data, about 4,000 people in Moldova die every year because of smoking-related diseases. The mortality rate attributed to tobacco is growing and is already 3.6 times bigger than the European Union average. Statistics show that about half of men and 7.1% of women smoke. Among the youth between 13 and 24 years, a third are smokers.