central america october 1998 an estimated 150 000 people die each year in latin from tobacco use and if current trends continue this number will surpass one million by the 2030 1 five small countries of have not escaped epidemic although civil war economic crises during 1980s contributed to reduced smoking rates some parts region corporate expansion aggressive marketing tactics relatively lax control legislation threaten reverse that trend multinational companies a firm hold on american market controlling virtually all production through their subsidiaries british bat has presence while philip morris is present guatemala el salvador costa rica 2 as most stable peaceful nations more reliable somewhat outdated statistics its consequences 1987 national drug survey among aged 14 60 reported 32 9 men 10 6 women were smokers 3 according institute alcoholism chemical dependency 11 4 deaths are related
