Stubbing out communist habits

Poland's health took a nosedive during the 1980s as the country revolted against Communist rule. Unhealthily, many Poles sought solace from the political upheaval by consuming record quantities of tobacco and alcohol. Poland has seen some remarkable improvements in public health since 1992, mortality rates fromcardiovascular disease are down by 50 percent in the under 45 years age-group.With more and better health information in the media, Poles have reduced their dependence on butter, doubling their consumption of vegetable oils. Above all, there has been a reduction, against all predictions, of the number of smokers. In the case of men, an astonishing fall from about 70 percent of the population to about 38 percent, roughly the same rate as France. Among women it hasgone down from 30 percent to 26 percent.