Cardiovascular Diseases And Tobacco In The Dominican Republic

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About 13,000 people die every year and approximately 12 percent of years of life lost are from cardiovascular related diseases in the Dominican Republic (World Health Organization, Mortality). This affects the community at large and stems from smoking, general ill health, lack of education, and lack of coverage of our health services. Cardiovascular diseases are attributed to a great burden of disease. Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which needs to be addressed. Tobacco control is a low cost approach for preventative measures against cardiovascular diseases, as well as other non-communicable diseases. We must expand our efforts for tobacco control across the country. I expand on these comments below. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 33 percent of the deaths in the Dominican Republic, while communicable diseases cause 56 percent. Although communicable diseases account for more deaths, the country is currently in a stage of epidemiological transition, illustrated by a decline of communicable diseases and the growth of NCDs (Ministry of Health). Generally speaking, in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the burden of disease associated with NCDs is greater than the burden of disease associated with communicable diseases and injuries. In LAC, NCDs account for nearly 70 percent of deaths. Also, in LAC, about 50 percent of all years of life lost are related to NCDs, whereas only 30 percent are due to communicable diseases, and 20 percent are due to injuries (R, Keith). NCDs affect everyone, from the rich to the poor. Now especially, the poor are becoming more affected because of lack of access to education and services required to prevent and treat NCDs (Anderson et al.). In the Dominican Republic, the non-communicable disease that causes the most deaths is cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases involve
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