"It is curious the change in eating habits after the 'mad cow' crisis and, nevertheless, people do not stop smoking despite the almost 900 deaths per week caused by tobacco in Spain". Jokin de Irala, professor of the Epidemiology and Public Health Unit of the University of Navarra, expressed himself in these terms in a lecture in a course on 'Drug Dependency' of the School of Pharmacy. This lecture on smoking coincided with the events programmed by the project Healthy University on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.

It is paradoxical," continued Professor De Irala, "because there are no known deaths in Spain from bovine spongiform encephalopathy. However, tobacco kills two million people a year in developed countries, of which approximately 46,000 are Spanish. And this trend is increasing.

The doctor from the University of Navarra said that this tranquility about tobacco is "largely the fault of the good work of the tobacco companies. They focus their advertising campaigns on the sector of the population that finds it most difficult to refuse something, which is the adolescent. These young people get hooked and, when they become adults, they depend on nicotine".

"In the U.S., kids know the Camel camel as well as they know Mickey Mouse."

The expert confirmed the scope of these campaigns by explaining that, "according to one study, children in the U.S. know the Camel camel as well as they know Mickey Mouse. In addition, it seems that tobacco companies have manipulated the nicotine content: even if the packet states a percentage, it is possible to add products to cigarettes that increase the smoker's absorption of nicotine. Thus, the smoker absorbs the same amount as if the level of this harmful substance had not been reduced. This is why the term "light" is to be banned in Europe.

But despite the setback tobacco companies are receiving in developed countries, they are still very strong because, according to Professor De Irala, "they are concentrating on developing nations development, where they have great economic potential".