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• Brazil spends nearly $200 mln on tobacco-linked illness  

Brazil's government spends at least 330 million reais (194 million U.S. dollars) annually on treating tobacco-related illness, the state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation said in a report Sunday.

Foundation economist Marcia Pinto based the estimates on spending by the Unified Health System on patients being treated for 32 smoking-related conditions. . . .

According to the foundation, the real spending may be much higher, as surgery and other specialized treatment were not counted and many diseases the World Health Organization defined as linked to smoking were not included in the estimates. . . .

"The tobacco industry must pay for the costs assumed by the state, and anti-smoking campaigns must be intensified," she added.

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