Smoking-related deaths in Egypt, determined by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Health Ministry to be approximately 170,000 annually, are four times higher than hepatitis C mortalities, according to the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera).
Though Egypt is party to the WHO's 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Health Ministry said in 2014 that the country was among the world’s top 10 tobacco consumers, adding that treatment for smoking-related diseases cost LE3.4 billion.
In addition to a high mortality rate for smoking, Egypt also has the world’s highest rate in hepatitis C infections. The annual mortality rate for the disease stands at 40,000 and at least 14 percent of the population is estimated to carry the disease.
